BRIDGE

Number One Hundred and Thirty-Two

Bernard Magee’s Acol Bidding Quiz

December 2013

You are West in the auctions below, playing ‘Standard Acol’ with a weak no-trump (12-14 points) and 4-card majors.

1. Dealer West. Love All. 4. Dealer West. Game All. 7. Dealer East. Love All. 10. Dealer North. Love All.
♠ 4 ♠ J 6 ♠ 3 2 ♠ 4 3 2
N N N N
♥ A 9 7 3 W E
♥ A K 8 7 6 W E
♥ A Q 10 9 W E
♥ K Q 8 6 5 W E
♦ A 10 4 3 S ♦ A J 3 2 S ♦ 8 7 6 3 S ♦ 9 3 S

♣ A J 5 2 ♣ 7 2 ♣ A 10 5 ♣ 9 7 6

West North East South West North East South West North East South West North East South
? 1♥ 1NT Dbl 2♣ 1♠ 2♥ 1♣ 1♠ Pass
? ? ?

2. Dealer East. Love All. 5. Dealer West. N/S Game. 8. Dealer East. Game All. 11. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ J 8 7 6 5 ♠ K Q J 10 9 8 7 ♠ A K 7 6 ♠ 3 2
N N N N
♥ 4 W E
♥ Void ♥ 7 2 ♥ 8 7 W E
W E W E
♦ A 7 6 5 4 S ♦ 4 3 2 S ♦ A 9 8 3 S ♦ 9 5 4 3 S
♣ 3 2 ♣ 6 5 4 ♣ K 9 3 ♣ 10 7 6 5 2

West North East South West North East South West North East South West North East South
1♠ Pass 3♠ Dbl Pass 4♥ 1♥ Pass 2♣ Pass
? ? 1♠ Pass 2♦ Pass 2♦ Pass 2♠ Pass
? 2NT Pass 3♥ Pass
?

3. Dealer West. Love All. 6. Dealer West. Game All. 9. Dealer West. Love All. 12. Dealer North. Game All.
♠ A K 2 ♠ Q 3 2 ♠ A K 8 5 4
♠ 6 4 2
N N N N
♥ A K 7 6 ♥ K Q 9 3 ♥ K Q 3 2 ♥ 5 4 2
W E W E W E W E
♦ Q 5 4 S ♦ A 2 S ♦ K 7 S ♦ 8 3 S
♣ K 9 4 ♣ A 9 8 6 ♣ 6 2 ♣ K Q 6 5 3

West North East South West North East South West North East South West North East South
1♥ 1♠ Pass Pass 1♥ Pass 2♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 1NT Pass 1NT Dbl Pass
? ? 2♥ Pass 2♠ Pass ?
?

Answers on page 15 Answers on page 19 Answers on page 21 Answers on page 23

 BERNARD MAGEE
Boxed Sets of six DVDs
Series 1
1 Ruffing for Extra Tricks
This seminar deals with declarer’s
use of ruffing to make extra tricks
and then looks at how the defenders
might counteract this. (74 mins.)
2 Competitive Tricks
This seminar focuses on competitive
auctions from the perspective of the
overcalling side and then from the
perspective of the opening side in
the second part. (86 mins.)
3 Making the Most
of High Cards
This seminar helps declarer to use
his high cards more carefully and
then looks at how defenders should
care for their high cards. (83 mins.)
4 Identifying
& Bidding Slams
The first half of this seminar is about
identifying when a slam might be on
– one of the hardest topics to teach.
The second half covers some slam-
bidding techniques. (96 mins.)
5 Play & Defence
of 1NT Contracts
This seminar looks at the most
common and yet most feared
of contracts: 1NT. The first half
looks at declaring the contract and
the second part puts us in the
defenders’ seats. (88 mins.)
6 Doubling & Defence
against Doubled Contracts
The first half of this seminar
explores penalty doubles and the
second half discusses the defence
against doubled contracts. (88 mins.)
Individual DVDs. £25 each.
Boxed Set of 6. £100.
Make your cheque payable to Mr Bridge and send to: Mr Bridge, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH
( 01483 489961
Series 2
7 Leads
Bernard takes you through all the
basic leads and the importance of
your choice of lead. If you start to
think not just about your hand, but
about your partner’s too, then you
will get much better results. (95 mins.)
8 Losing Trick Count
A way of hand evaluation for when
you find a fit. Bernard deals with the
basics of the losing trick count then
looks at advanced methods to hone
your bidding. (92 mins.)
9 Making a Plan
as Declarer
Bernard explains how to make a plan
then expands on how to make the
most of your long suits. The first half
deals with no-trumps, the second with
suit contracts. (87 mins.)
10 Responding to 1NT
This seminar deals with Transfers
and Stayman in detail. The 1NT
opening comes up frequently, so
having a good, accurate system of
responses is paramount. (93 mins.)
11 Signals & Discards
This seminar deals with Count,
Attitude and Suit-preference signals:
aiming to get you working as a
partnership in defence. (92 mins.)
12 Endplays
Bernard takes you through the basics
of the technique before showing some
magical hands where you take extra
tricks from defenders. In the second
half, Bernard looks at how to avoid
being endplayed. (80 mins.)
Individual DVDs. £25 each.
Boxed Set of 6. £100.
www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop
Series 3
13 Hand Evaluation
Going beyond just the point-count
is important if you want to improve.
Reaching & making 3NT on 24 HCP;
and avoiding 3NT on 26 HCP when
there are only 7 or 8 tricks. (110 mins.)
14 Pre-Empting
The art of pre-empting is so important
in the modern game. Understanding
the right types of hand to bid up
on and realising the importance of
position and vulnerability. (96 mins.)
15 Splinter & Cue-Bids
Take your slam bidding to another
level. Splinter bids are a vital tool to
add to your armoury & try your hand
at Italian style cue-bidding. (116 mins.)
16 Avoidance
As declarer, an important tactic is
to be in control of the defenders:
avoiding a particular defender getting
the lead. As a defender, you can try to
make sure the right player gets the
lead at the right time. (88 mins.)
17 Pairs Play & Defence
Duplicate Pairs is the game most of
us play and getting used to the tactics
will make a lot of difference to your
performance. Making more overtricks
and making sure you do not give
away tricks as a defender. (90 mins.)
18 Thinking Defence
By far the hardest aspect of bridge,
but if you can improve your defence
your results will quickly improve.
Learn how to think through the
defence and get your mind in gear for
the decisions that await you. (87 mins.)
Individual DVDs. £25 each.
Boxed Set of 6. £100.
 FEATURES
BRIDGE
1 Bidding Quiz
by Bernard Magee
5 Mr Bridge
Ryden Grange, Knaphill, 9 Defence Quiz
Surrey GU21 2TH by Julian Pottage
( 01483 489961 11 David Stevenson
Answers Your Questions
e-mail:
13 Declarer Play Quiz
bridge@mrbridge.co.uk by David Huggett
website:
15 Bidding Quiz Answers
www.mrbridge.co.uk (1-3) by Bernard Magee
17 Real Results at Our Club
Publisher and by Hugh Tarran
Managing Editor 19 Bidding Quiz Answers
Mr Bridge (4-6) by Bernard Magee
21 Bidding Quiz Answers
Bridge Consultant
(7-9) by Bernard Magee
Bernard Magee
23 Bidding Quiz Answers
Technical Consultant (10-12) by Bernard Magee
Tony Gordon 26 Things You Should
Know About . . .
Typesetting & Design by Andrew Kambites
Ruth Edmondson 27 Weak Twos
by Andrew Kambites
Proof Readers
30 WeakTwos Quiz by
Tony & Jan Richards Andrew Kambites
Catrina Shackleton
31 Defence Quiz Answers
Richard Wheen by Julian Pottage
Hugh Williams 32 Julian Pottage
Office Manager Answers Your Questions
Rachel Everett 34 Bridge and Travel Tips
35 The Diaries of
Events & Cruises Wendy Wensum
( 01483 489961 37 Catching Up
Rosie Baker by Sally Brock
Jessica Galt 39 Arrow-Switches
by David Stevenson
Megan Riccio
Sophie Pierrepont 40 Readers’ Letters
43 Seven Days
Clubs & Charities by Sally Brock
Maggie Axtell 46 Declarer Play Answers
maggie@mrbridge.co.uk by David Huggett
47 Weak Twos Answers
Address Changes by Andrew Kambites
( 01483 485342
Elizabeth Bryan
elizabeth@mrbridge.co.uk ADVERTISEMENTS
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BRIDGE December 2013 Page 3
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with Bernard Magee
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Filming Events
23 Feb – 9 March 2014
20 Mr Bridge Christmas
& New Year 2013/2014 Bernard Magee
21 Bridge Events at £799*
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22 Samuel Windsor Shoes 30 March – 13 April 2014
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Crombie &
Helen McNeil
24 2014 Med Cruises with
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2-16 November 2014
Bridge Events Tony & Jan Richards
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a twin-bedded room and is
inclusive of bridge fees. Single
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These prices are based on air
onboard Voyager
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Flights from other UK airports
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and the Orient DETAILS & BOOKINGS
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JUST DUPLICATE BRIDGE
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House Hotel House Hotel

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The Olde Barn Chatsworth Hotel
Blunsdon House Hotel The Olde Barn Hotel
Swindon SN26 7AS Marston, Lincs NG32 2HT
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Elstead Hotel

£50
28 Feb – 2 March £199 18-20 July £199
Chatsworth Hotel Blunsdon
31 Jan – 2 Feb £199 House Hotel

OFF*
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Just Duplicate Events
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for terms and
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The Olde Barn
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Blunsdon
13-15 June £169 House Hotel
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Chatsworth Hotel
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28-30 March £199 Elstead Hotel
Ardington Hotel Denham Grove
Worthing BN11 3DZ
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28-30 March £199 The Olde Barn
31 Jan – 2 Feb £199 Elstead Hotel
Clifton Park Hotel
24-26 October £199
Lytham St Annes
25-27 April £199 Chatsworth
Blundson House Hotel Hotel
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Denham Grove Worthing BN11 3DU

14-16 February £199 27-29 June £169

Chatsworth Hotel The Olde Barn

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Elstead Hotel Denham Grove

21-23 February £199 Elstead Hotel 11-13 July £169 Chatsworth Hotel
Blundson House Hotel Bournemouth, BH1 3QP The Olde Barn Worthing BN11 3DU

Full Board – No Single Supplement

Booking Form on page 8.
Please note there are no seminars, set hands or prizes at these events.
*Offer ends 31st December 2013.
 LATEST DVDs
The filming in May of this
year has now been through
all its processes and has
emerged to a wonderful
reception. All the three
series 2011, 2012 and now
2013 are listed on page 2 of
this issue, with thumbnail
descriptions of the
contents. Playing times are
all around 90 minutes.
The wonderful thing about
a tutorial DVD is that
students have a permanent
record which they can
re-visit over and over again.
These are the very best
available, but as the proud
producer, I would say that
wouldn’t I.
FILMING
The introductory offer for
the 2014 Tutorial Filming
weekend has now expired.
If you missed your chance,
try a bit earlier next year.
SCOTLAND
Bernard Magee goes to
The Queensferry Hotel on
14-16 March. This venue
overlooks the Firth of Forth
and is now under new
management. Book early to
avoid disappointment.
BRIDGE December 2013 Page 5
DESPERATE
‘We are a very small club
with an ageing membership
and we are in dire need of
new members.
Could you give us a plug
and tell your readers of our
predicament giving them
our website address?’
So writes Bill Seymour, the
secretary of Orpington BC.
www.bridgewebs.com/
orpington
Sorry to have to tell you
this Bill, but until your club
becomes new-membership
friendly, it will continue its
downhill spiral. I could
find no means of making
quick human contact to
discuss your predicament.
A dedicated membership
secretary and an odd-bod
service will help but the
most important thing is a
telephone number.
If this comes across as
being rude, it is because I
truly care. A beautiful
website is boring when it
doesn’t provide the
information you need
quickly and easily. Other
bridge clubs in the same
predicament please note.
£50 OFF
£50
OFF
The fun of duplicate lies in
the numbers, so to be
certain of these, most of the
places are sold ahead of the
event at special prices.
Payment is taken in full at
the time of booking, by
cheque or debit card. I have
extended this offer so that it
closes 8 January.
CRACKERS
I have donated a half page
to Embrace the Middle
East, see page 16, a charity
that endeavours to support
health, education and
community development
projects. I think it is worthy
of your support.
GOFFIES STAMPS
Now is the season when
you want to see the most
obvious savings on postage.
So try Clive Goffs
discounted service.
Value supplied in two
stamps, combined to make
up the 50p 2nd class rate,
2nd class to you at 41p. 1st
class 60p, only 50p to you.
Available in lots of 100.
( 0208 422 4906.
EXTRA DATE
A new venue has been
added to our listing of Just
Duplicate events.
31 January – 2 February
Clifton Park Hotel,
Lytham St Annes, Lancs.
Readers from the north-
west, here is your chance.
NEW YEAR’S EVE
As usual I am going to the
New Year’s Eve Gala
Dinner at Denham Grove.
I’m hoping to stay on for a
game afterwards and
looking forward to meeting
as many people as possible.
See you there.
OCTOBER PRIZE
The Chatsworth Hotel quiz
prize has been won by
Mrs Rose from Camberley.
You are dealer, both sides
not vulnerable.
♠ 5
♥ A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6
♦ 2
♣ A K
What would you open?
Winning answer: 4NT.
BOXED CARDS
I’m clearing twin packs of
my lovely premium quality
playing cards, in a tasteful
gold-coloured drop-lid box.
£7 per box, 2 for £12. These
are not on my list so please
write in or phone.
ARDINGTON
All the just duplicate
promotions mean that The
Ardington Hotel in
Worthing is feeling
neglected. As they have a
serious programme of
refurbishment in hand
their management has
come up with a mind
boggling deal that simply
cannot be missed.
Tutorial events at £215 no
single supplement. If a
double or twin bedded
room is shared, there is an
additional charge of £35
making it £250 for the two
occupants sharing. I do
hope this is clear as it seems
too good to be true.
It is so good I am sure they
will never be able to repeat
it. Call Jessica for details.
 2014 DIARIES
BRIDGE
There are a few bridge
players’ diaries still in
stock. Standard or luxury
versions as per mail order
form on page 7.
Make sure you
don’t miss your GIFT SUGGESTIONS
favourite monthly
Either or both of the David
articles. Bird Robin Hood Books.
Send 4 postage stamps per
book or use PayPal at our
online shop. Both make
excellent stocking fillers.
SPECIAL Ball point pens with a
OFFER built-in torch at the other
end. Boxed £5 inc p&p.
PRICE
Quality silver-coloured key
ring with a spring loaded
reusable pound-sized coin.
Boxed £5 inc p&p.
l Acol Bidding Bernard Magee’s Tutorial
Quiz & Answers CDs, See page 2.
Bernard Magee
A year’s subscription to
l Ask Julian Pottage BRIDGE from £20. See
adjacent mail order form.
l Julian’s FAQs
l Misleading Cases as
CHRISTMAS
reported by R Wheen
CRUISE
l Ask David Stevenson
l David’s FAQs
l Mary’s First Lesson
l Helpful Conventions
and Related Quiz
l Defence Quiz This year’s Christmas
cruise is on m.v. Voyager
l Tales from
hosted by Sandy Bell and
Sherwood Forest
Graham Crane. See the
by David Bird
back page for an outline or
l Things You telephone for a brochure.
Should Know... Our bridge room has been
improved and can now hold
l Catching up
up to 15 tables.
l Seven Days
l Jeremy Dhondy 2014 ON VOYAGER
l Sally Brock Tip Next year’s cruising on
l Travel Tip board Voyager will have
bridge on every sailing with
l Readers Letters my experienced hosts
providing on board tuition
Special Introductory on days at sea and a
Subscription: £20 for duplicate after dinner every
twelve monthly issues. evening. For full details see
See adjacent form. page 39. ( 01483 489961
for brochures or bookings.
Page 6 BRIDGE December 2013
FESTIVE BERNARD
We are filling up for the
festive season earlier than
usual this year. As a result,
we have put on an extra
event between Christmas
and New Year in north-
west England.
Inn on the Prom, Lytham
27-29 December 2013
Signals and Discards
Bernard Magee £245
No single supplement.
BRIDGE
For those who would like
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If you do and have not
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QPLUS 11
All the outstanding
trade-in and new orders
have now been sent out.
Here are some more
interesting hands for your
amusement.
6001-13 2683-13
8677-12 6071-05 proof–readers.
6071-10
BARON FOR MAC
Bridge Baron 24 has just
been published. See mail
order form for details.
BRIDGE TABLES
If you are looking for a
bridge table see page 42.
LITTLE VOICE
Jenna Hoyt, driving force
of the rescue home for
children in Addis Ababa,
has been diverted by a child
of her own, Zöe, already
fourteen months old. Time
flies by. She tells me, ‘thank
all your readers for saving
the used stamps and for
buying the second hand
software.’ Please keep
saving the stamps and I will
provide details of where
and to whom to send them
when space permits.
ANTIQUITY
Mrs Bridge and I join
Aegean Odyssey in March
on a lovely Voyage that
includes the Holy Land. I
am really looking forward
to visiting these historic
sites. I am also looking
forward to going to the
Black Sea in Autumn 2014.
See the advert for both in
the centrefold or better still,
ring for a brochure.
( 01483 489961.
TIME OF YEAR
It is the season for saying
thank you. So, to all my
office staff, my growing
army of weekend hosts and
helpers and my advertisers
and sponsors, a great big
thank you. And this year,
whether she likes it or not it
is time to say a great big
thank you to Ruth
Edmondson, my typesetter
extraordinaire and her
team of consultants and
And another great big
thank you, to you, the
readers, as without your
enthusiastic support
BRIDGE would not be the
magazine it currently is.
Best wishes for me are love,
peace and blessings, so that
is what I wish for you, too.
Mr Bridge
 ✄
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✄
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BRIDGE December 2013 Page 7

 ✄
BRIDGE  BRIDGE EVENTS
with Bernard Magee
BREAKS
June 2014
♦ Full-board ♦ Two seminars*
6-8 Olde Barn Hotel
♦ All rooms with ♦ Two supervised £245 Bidding NEW
en-suite facilities play sessions*
Distributional
♦ No single supplement ♦ Four bridge sessions** Hands

Please book ..... places for me at £....... per person, 20-22 Olde Barn Hotel
£245 Finding Slams
Single .... Double .... Twin ....
Chatsworth Hotel OCTOBER 2014
Name of Hotel/Centre............................................................. Worthing BN11 3DU
3-5 Chatsworth
Hotel
Date(s) ....................................................................................
JANUARY 2014 £245 Game Tries
Mr/Mrs/Miss ......................................................................... 10-13 Denham Grove 10-12 Olde Barn Hotel
£399 Filming £245 Endplay &
Address................................................................................... Weekend Avoidance

................................................................................................ 17-19 Chatsworth Hotel

£245 Better Leads
Postcode ................................................................................. & Switches

( ........................................................................................... March 2014

21-23 Inn on the Prom
Special requirements (these cannot be guaranteed,
£245 Doubles
but we will do our best to oblige).
14-16 Queenferry Hotel
................................................................................................ £245 Endplay &
Avoidance Blunsdon House Hotel
Please give the name(s) of all those covered by this booking. Blunsdon, Swindon SN26 7AS
April 2014
................................................................................................
4-6 Chatsworth Hotel
Please send a non-returnable deposit of £50 per person per place by £245 Finding Slams NOVEMber 2014
cheque, payable to Mr Bridge. An invoice for the balance will be sent
with your booking confirmation. On receipt of your final payment, 11-13 Blunsdon House 7-9 Chatsworth
28 days before the event, a programme and full details will be sent £245 Leads & Defence Hotel
together with a map. Cancellations are not refundable. Should you £245 Hand
require insurance, you should contact your own insurance broker. Evaluation
14-16 Blunsdon House
£245 Further into
the Auction
21-23 Elstead House
£245 Doubles
Expiry: ................................. CVV......................... Issue No....................
(CVV is the last 3 numbers on the signature strip) 28-30 Blunsdon House
£245 Bidding NEW
Mr Bridge, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH. Queensferry Hotel Distributional
North Queensferry KY11 1HP
( 01483 489961 Hands
e-mail: jessica@mrbridge.co.uk
website: www.holidaybridge.com Full Board. No Single Supplement.
*on tutorial weekends only. **6 sessions on rubber/Chicago events. See Adjacent Booking Form.
Please note: Just Bridge events contain no seminars and do not award prizes.
✄

Page 8 BRIDGE December 2013

 Elstead Blunsdon
Hotel DEFENCE House
Hotel
Bournemouth
BH1 3QP QUIZ Swindon SN26 7AS

by Julian Pottage
(Answers on page 31)

Y ou are West in the defensive positions below. It is your

turn to play. Both sides are using Acol with a 12-14 1NT.

1. ♠ K 3. ♠ Q
♥ A 7 5 ♥ A 7 5
♦ A Q J 9 6 5 ♦ Q J 9 8 6 5
♣ A 8 2 ♣ A 8 2
♠ Q 10 7 2 ♠ J 10 9 6
N N
♥ K J 6 W E ♥ K J 6
W E
♦ 10 4 S ♦ K 4 S BRIDGE EVENTS
♣ Q 9 6 4 ♣ J 9 5 4
BRIDGE
10-12 January 2014 £199
EVENTS Just Duplicate Bridge
West North East South West North East South
1♦ Pass 1NT 1NT
10-12 Jan 2014 £199 Pass 3NT End Pass 3NT End 21-23 February £199
Just Duplicate Bridge Just Duplicate Bridge
You lead the ♠2, won by You lead the ♠J. Partner
the ♠A (♠5 from South). wins with the ♠A and 28 Feb – 2 March £199
24-26 January £199
Partner returns the ♠4, returns the ♠4, covered by Just Duplicate Bridge
Just Duplicate Bridge
covered by the ♠J. What the ♠5. How do you
do you do? defend?
14-16 March £199
31 Jan – 2 Feb £199
Just Duplicate Bridge
Just Duplicate Bridge

2. ♠ Q 4. ♠ K7 11-13 April £245

14-16 February £199 ♥ A 7 5 ♥ KQJ95 Bernard Magee
Just Duplicate Bridge ♦ Q J 9 8 6 5 ♦ A J 10 5 Leads & Defence
♣ A 8 2 ♣ 10 2
28-30 March £199 ♠ A 10 4 3 2 ♠ Q 10 6 5 N 25-27 April £199
Just Duplicate Bridge ♥ K J 6 ♥ A 10 6 W E
N Just Duplicate Bridge
♦ 10 4 ♦ 6 4 S
W E
♣ Q 9 4 S ♣ Q J 9 5
11-13 April £215 14-16 November £245
Stan Powell Bernard Magee
Signals & Discards West North East South West North East South Further into the Auction
1NT 1♥ Pass 1♠
Pass 3NT End Pass 2♦ Pass 2NT 28-30 November £245
21-23 November £245
Pass 3NT End Bernard Magee
Bernard Magee
You lead the ♠3. Partner Bidding NEW
Doubles wins with the ♠K and You lead the ♣Q. Partner
TOPIC

Full Board
No Single Supplement
Booking Form on page 8.
returns the ♠5, on which
South plays the ♠J. What
do you do?
Distributional Hands
plays the ♣7 (high encour-
ages, low discourages) and Full Board
South the ♣4. How do No Single Supplement
you continue?
Booking Form on page 8.

BRIDGE December 2013 Page 9

 BERNARD MAGEE’S
INTERACTIVE TUTORIALS
BEGIN BRIDGE ACOL MORE DECLARER
ACOL VERSION BIDDING (ADVANCED) PLAY
l Card Play Technique ACOL BIDDING
l Opening Bids and l Suit Establishment
l Planning Card Play Responses l Basics in No-trumps
l Bidding Balanced l Slams and Strong l Advanced Basics l Suit Establishment
Hands Openings in Suits
l Bidding Suits l Weak Twos
l Support for Partner l Hold-ups
l Responding to a Suit l Strong Hands
l Pre-empting l Ruffing for
l Supporting Partner l Defence
Extra Tricks
l Responding to 1NT l Overcalls to Weak Twos
£66 l Entries in
l Stayman l No-trump l Defence to 1NT No-trumps £76
l Strong Two Opening Openings
l Doubles
and Response and Responses l Delaying

l Overcalls l Opener’s and l Two-suited £96 Drawing Trumps

l Doubles £66 Responder’s Rebids Overcalls l Using the Lead

l Pre-empting l Defences to
l Minors and Misfits l Trump Control
Other Systems
l Defence against No l Doubles l Endplays &
Trump Contracts l Misfits and Avoidance
l Competitive Distributional
l Defence against Suit
Auctions Hands l Using the Bidding
Contracts

ADVANCED DEFENCE FIVE-CARD BETTER

DECLARER PLAY MAJORS & BRIDGE
l Lead vs Strong No-Trump
l Making Overtricks No-trump Contracts l Ruffing for
in No-trumps l Opening Bids Extra Tricks
l Lead vs & Responses
l Making Overtricks Suit Contracts
in Suit Contracts l No-Trump l Doubling and
l Partner of Leader Defence
Openings
l Endplays vs No-trump Against
Contracts l Support £89 Doubled
£69
l Avoidance
for Partner Contracts
l Partner of Leader
l Wrong £81 vs Suit Contracts l Slams
Contract
& Strong Openings l Play and Defence
l Count
l Simple of 1NT Contracts
Signals l Rebids
Squeezes
l Counting
l Attitude £76 l Minors l Finding and
Signals & Misfits Bidding Slams
the Hand
l Discarding l Pre-empting
l Trump Reductions
& Coups l Doubles l Making the
l Defensive Plan
Most of High Cards
l Playing Doubled l Stopping Declarer l Overcalls
Contracts
l Counting l Competitive l Competitive
l Safety Plays the Hand Auctions Auctions

Make your cheque payable to Mr Bridge and send to: Mr Bridge , Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH
( 01483 489961 www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop Fax 01483 797302
System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8, 8mb RAM, CD-ROM
 David Stevenson answers your questions on Laws and Ethics
Q Q
Does my partner
have to alert
or announce
when we use Landy
as our defence to
a 1NT opening?
Evan St Clair Sepion
by email.
A
Your partner has to
alert it. Currently,
announcements
are solely by opener or
responder, though since they
are popular, their use may
be extended in the future.
♣♦♥♠
Q
The ♦10 was led
on my left, my
partner following
with a small diamond,
RHO discarded and I
took the trick with the
♦K. RHO apologised,
picked up his discard
and put down the ♦A. I
picked up my ♦K to play
a lower card, but RHO
said I could not do this.
What is correct and
does your answer
also apply to whist?
Joan Taylor,
West Wickham, Kent.
A
I think your opponent
is trying it on with
you. Of course he
cannot gain from a revoke in
BRIDGE December 2013 Page 11
Is Landy
Alerted or
Announced?
this way. When he corrects
his revoke you may change
your card. Furthermore, your
card is now unauthorised
information to him but
authorised to your partner.
I have checked in Hoyle’s
Games Modernised and
the rule would be exactly
the same in whist.
♣♦♥♠
Q
Further to
your answer
in BRIDGE,
September 2013, does
the requirement for the
boards to remain on the
table throughout play
also apply to the boards
not being played?
At our club, one
person, whilst leaving
the board being played
on the table, insists on
putting the remaining
boards on the floor.
Is this allowed?
Peter Godfrey by email.
A
There are no laws
about other boards.
Partly it is a matter
of custom and practice, or
a club could make a rule.
Nevertheless, no player
has a right to upset another
so this matter should be
by agreement, not by
being tiresome about it.
In a duplicate
session at my
local club, I
was declarer in 3♠. On
completion of trick 7,
an opponent dropped
a card on the floor. She
put her cards face down
on the table and, after
some considerable time
and effort, retrieved it.
After playing another
two tricks, she realised
she had only three cards
in her hand instead of
four. I called the director
who took another five
minutes or so to estab-
lish what had happened
and look through the
tricks. She then said to
proceed and she would
assess whether I had
been disadvantaged on
completion of the ses-
sion. Although it was
I who had called the
director, she cut off my
succinct explanation of
what had happened and
asked questions of the
defenders who talked
over each other. A dia-
mond was then led. After
such a delay and discus-
sion I could not remem-
ber how many had gone
or the precise trump
position. I went down
by two tricks instead of
the one I was anticipat-
ing at the time of the
incident. Half the tables
were not in spades.
One had made 3♠ and
another had gone two
down so the director
decided that my ‘two
down’ needed no adjust-
ment. I said that I ac-
cepted her decision, but
I felt I had been placed
in an unfair position.
The player who dropped
her card and, more
importantly, messed up
her hand after retriev-
ing it, escaped without
any form of penalty. Do
you consider this fair?
Name and address supplied.
A
It seems the director
handled it very badly,
though missing cards
are a problem. Not allowing
everyone to have their say is
always wrong, though silenc-
ing people who all want to
talk at the same time is rea-
sonable and often necessary.
When the card was found
it is put back in the hand
and play continues. It is
unfortunate that there was
so much faffing around that
you lost concentration. It
is difficult to see what was
being said if the facts were as
simple and clear as you said.
Nevertheless, there seems no
reason for any adjustment.
 Ask David continued
Q
Can I open 2♣
without 23 HCP?
I had a 20 count
with a singleton king,
so I opened 2♣ forcing
my partner to bid.
The opposition said
that this was not allowed.
Bruce Stevens by email.
A
Your opponents are
wrong. Certainly
there are rules,
which are often published
in this column, but it is legal
to open 2♣ with any hand
of 16 HCP or more, though
not necessarily sensible.
♣♦♥♠
Q
Declarer, in 1NT,
claimed the
remaining tricks
with about 6 cards still
to play. The opponents
disputed this (very nicely)
and the (EBU Qualified)
director was immediately
called. The situation
was explained and she
stated that she, the
director, would play the
remaining hands (all 4
of them) and see if it was
possible to NOT make
all the remaining tricks
and that she was allowed
to do this by applying a
methodology of ‘careless
play’. She started to
do this and declarer
protested that she was
not intending to play the
remaining cards in the
manner proposed by the
director. The situation
was getting rather
heated and the director’s
husband, also a qualified
director, come over and
started to advise the
current director and
declarer (and read from
Mr Bridge’s Yellow Book)
Page 12 BRIDGE December 2013
that unreasonable play
was allowed to be taken
into account to determine
the outcome. At no stage
was declarer asked
to state her proposed
method of play. It was
quite clear that had she
been allowed to play,
or state her proposed
method of play, that all
the tricks would have
been made. The only
way they could not have
been made was, not by
unreasonable play, but
by really stupid play.
Declarer is not a ‘stupid’
player, in fact she is
very experienced and
claimed to save time.
The director continued
to insist that it was
possible to play the cards
in a manner that would
result in tricks being lost
and declarer continued
to protest that she wasn’t
going to play them like
that. She tried to explain
what her method of
play would have been,
but the director refused
to listen. The director
then declared that she
was going to ‘void’ the
board and walked away
from the table. She
was overheard saying
to someone else, that
the board would be
scored as average plus
(60%) to the opponents
and average minus
(40%) to declarer.
We got a bottom on
that board because of the
director’s ruling, when
every other pair in the
room made the contract.
Would you have
handled this situation in
this manner and was the
director’s ruling correct?
Patricia Watson by email.
A
I certainly would not
have handled it as
the director did, but
declarer is also at fault.
When a claim is made,
it is required for claimer to
state the line of play. If the
claimer does not, then the
director is not required to
ask the declarer to state
the line of play later. It is
often pointless asking later
because claims are often
contested because declarer
has overlooked something,
but once the director is called
and the claim contested,
the claimer will realise
what the item overlooked
is and will get it right.
Apparently, your declarer
did not give a line of play
and it is now correct that
the director will decide
how the play goes, though
standing at the table and
discussing it is not best.
As with other judgement
rulings, the director should
take it away, consider and
consult and come back
with a number of tricks.
When a claim is made,
doubtful points (as a matter
of law) are always decided
against the claimer.
After deciding the
number of tricks, the
director tells both sides
and if one side does not
like it they can appeal.
Giving average plus and
minus is illegal, an idea from
the 1950s. The director has
DUPLICATE BRIDGE 
RULES SIMPLIFIED
(otherwise known as the Yellow Book)
by John Rumbelow and
revised by David Stevenson
Available from Mr Bridge ( 01483 489961
to decide the number of
tricks. Certainly all players
make mistakes, often fairly
silly and in the case of a
claim with no statement, the
director will often consider
silly mistakes, though not
completely stupid ones. For
example, if there is a finesse
to be taken players do mess
up their entries and the
director can allow for that.
However, he would never
assume that a player would
play a king under an ace.
The results at other tables
are not relevant: we have all
got bottoms from misplaying
hands when every other
table made the contract.
I do not know what the
actual ruling should be on
this board without seeing
it, but I strongly advise
declarer to make a statement
of her line in future.
♣♦♥♠
Q
Can you touch
the bidding
box when it is
not your turn to bid?
Raihana Ehsanullah, Bucks.
A
While this is a bad
habit, there is no
actual rule to prevent
it. A few people do this,
it’s not a good idea, but
tolerated.
only
£595
 Ask David continued
Q
The bidding went
as far as South
who bid 2♠,
having made a take-
out double on the first
round. West passed and
North started to pull out
a pass card which was
seen by E/W and then
put it back in the box. A
bid of 3♠ was then made
by North and converted
to 4♠ by South. E/W
called the director on the
grounds that the contract
should have been 2♠ not
4♠ as the pass card, hav-
ing been seen, constitut-
ed the bid. South main-
tained that any calling of
the director should have
been made after the 3♠
bid and not at the end.
1. What should have
been the correct contract?
(The director ruled 2♠).
2. Was South right
to say that any ob-
jection should have
been made earlier?
Chris Simmons, Croydon
(similar from Pearl Evans).
A
I would have ruled
that the contract
was 4♠. Whether
the change from pass to 3♠
was legal or not, by bid-
ding on, the opposition
have accepted the change
so 3♠ was the bid made.
Certainly, the opponents
should have called the
director earlier. If some-
one does something wrong
then the director should
be called immediately.
What would have hap-
pened if the director had
been called immediately?
There are three possibili-
E-mail your questions on bridge laws to:
davidstevenson@mrbridge.co.uk
BRIDGE December 2013 Page 13
ties. Whether the pass was
seen or not is irrelevant: if it
did not leave the box, then
the call was not made and
DECLARER
may be changed legally. If
it did leave the box, then it
may be changed if it was
PLAY
QUIZ
an unintended call, often
called a mechanical error.
Possible, but pretty unlikely
with a change from pass to
3♠. If, as is most likely, the
by David Huggett
player changed her mind, the (Answers on page 46)
change is too late once the
pass card left the box and the
pass card would be restored.
Y ou are South as declarer playing teams or rubber bridge.
In each case, what is your play strategy?
♣♦♥♠
1. ♠ K 6 3. ♠ K 7 2
Q
Can a director ♥ A Q 10 3 ♥ 10 8 6 4
impose penalties ♦ 8 7 6 5 ♦ A 7 3
or sanctions, ♣ Q 5 4 ♣ K J 3
beyond the normal N N
penalties, against a W E W E
player who regularly S S
revokes? In our club,
we have one player ♠ A 7 ♠ A 8
who makes at least half ♥ 8 5 4 ♥ 3
of all the revokes. It is ♦ Q J 10 9 3 ♦ K Q 6 4
frustrating for other ♣ A K 6 ♣ A Q 10 7 6 2
players to keep calling
the director and for the
director to sort out how You are declarer in 3NT You are declarer in 6♣
many tricks might or and West leads the ♠4. and West leads the ♥A, K.
might not have been How do you plan the play? Trumps break 3-1. How
made without the revoke. do you plan the play?
Stephen Down, Selby.
A
It is legal for the
director to penalise 2. ♠ A 6 4. ♠ K J 7 5 3
a player for any ♥ Q 9 7 5 ♥ J 10 9
repeated offences, no ques- ♦ A 4 3 ♦ K 6 4
tion. Whether it is appropri- ♣ K J 7 3 ♣ 10 3
ate is another matter. If a
N N
player is very elderly and/or W E W E
a bit scatty, it does not seem S S
suitable. Maximum tolerance
is what this game needs. ♠ 2 ♠ A Q 9 8 6 2
On the other hand, if it is ♥ A 10 8 6 4 2 ♥ A 7 3
just someone who cannot be ♦ Q 7 6 ♦ A 8 2
bothered to concentrate, a ♣ A 6 4 ♣ K
few penalties (10% of a top)
might stop the revoking. It is
a judgement for the director You are declarer in 4♥ and You are declarer in 4♠ af-
to make. ■ West leads the ♠K. How ter West has doubled the
do you plan the play? 1♠ opening bid. West leads
the ♦Q. How do you plan
the play?
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 Answers to Bernard Magee’s
Bidding Quizzes 1-3 on the Cover
1. Dealer West. Love All.
♠ 4 ♠ K Q 9 8 7
N
♥ A 9 7 3
W E
♥ K 4 2
♦ A 10 4 3 S ♦ K 8 2
♣ A J 5 2 ♣ 4 3
West North East South
? When you have a weak hand with big
1♦.
With 13 HCP, you must surely open, even
if you do not like 4-4-4-1 hands. With
a black suit singleton, open the middle
suit: 1♦. You plan to rebid 2♣. It does
mean you are missing out your major,
but if your partner has hearts, he will
bid them. You do not want to start with
hearts because, when you rebid, you will
suggest five cards in the suit and your
partner will raise in hearts with 3-card
support. In a minor, he is more likely
to try no-trumps: 1♦-1♠-2♣-2NT; East
bids no-trumps rather than raising your
diamonds.
2. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ J 8 7 6 5 ♠ A K 9 4 2
N
♥ 4 ♥ 7 6 5
W E
♦ A 7 6 5 4 S ♦ K Q 3
♣ 3 2 ♣ 10 9
West North East South
1♠ Pass
? vs No-trump Contracts
4♠.
You have only 5 HCP, but with 5-card
spade support, you should certainly
make a supporting bid: raising your
partner. How high should you bid?
Using the losing trick count, you have
8 losers and five trumps, so this would
suggest 3♠ or with a push 4♠. When I
have 5-card support for my partner’s
opening major and a weak hand with at
BRIDGE December 2013 Page 15
least a singleton in its distribution, I like
to raise to game. To make or to save.
So often, these hands are won by the
boldest and fastest bidders. If you give
North the chance, he will make a bid and
bring his side in to the auction, but over
4♠ it is not easy for him. Both sides can
make at least 10 tricks, so if North-South
bid 5♥ or 5♣, they will get a better result.
trump support, bid high and fast.
3. Dealer West. Love All.
♠ A K 2 ♠ 6 4 3
♥ A K 7 6 N ♥ J 5
W E
♦ Q 5 4 S ♦ J 10 9 3
♣ K 9 4 ♣ 10 8 7 6
West North East South
1♥ 1♠ Pass Pass
? Here, he finds an easy pass. ■
DEFENCE
The Interactive Way of Improving Your Defence
with Bernard Magee
Contents (20 hands each)
l Lead vs No-trump Contracts
l Lead vs Suit Contracts
l Partner of Leader
l Partner of Leader vs Suit Contracts
l Count Signals
System Requirements
Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8,
8mb RAM, CD-ROM
See Mail Order Form on page 7.
1NT.
With 19 HCP, you may have been tempted
to open at the 2-level, but you wisely
started with a 1♥ opening bid. Now,
when the bidding comes back round to
you, surely you need to make a jump?
The answer would be ‘yes’ if your
partner had responded, but, on this
occasion, your partner has passed.
He may have very few points indeed.
To cater for this possibility, you should
downgrade your no-trump rebids one
level.
Modern Acol would have rebid 2NT
with this hand (18-19). Even in old
fashioned Acol, the hand is so flat you
should downgrade it: I like to take a full
point off a 4-3-3-3 hand because of its
lack of potential.
Whatever the system, the best bid is
1NT: this shows about 17-19 points, so if
partner does have some strength, he can
invite you to game, or bid game himself.
l Attitude Signals
l Discarding
l Defensive Plan
l Stopping Declarer
l Counting
the Hand
£76
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Card No.
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Valid from Expiry date
Security code Maestro Issue No. Full Board – No Single Supplement
(the last 3 digits from the signature strip on the back of your debit/credit card) Booking Form on page 8.

Page 16 BRIDGE December 2013

 Real Results at Our Club
by Hugh Tarran

I
’ve come to realise from observing bridge players that anything may happen on a hand. Bidding and play rarely follow
the ‘recommended’ bidding and play. So although a ‘recommended line’ is useful for learning, there are several outcomes
to each bridge hand and this can be understood only by comparing actual results from a bridge club. Comparison with
other bridge players provides learning and often helps build confidence for new players who feel they fail if they do not use the
‘recommended’ bids. In this article, I look at some ordinary hands from our (mainly Acol) club as examples.

Board A l at one table, North ended in 3NT Recommended Bidding

and, on a spade lead, made 11 tricks;
l another North replied 1♠, was This is a harder hand to predict due
Dealer South. Love All. raised to 2♠ and the bidding to potential competitive bids. A
♠ A Q 10 3 stopped in 3♠; recommended line may suggest the
♥ K 5 l another North replied 1♠ and South sequence below, adding that East
♦ 10 7 5 2 passed, thinking game was not on; probably leaves the double in and
♣ K 8 5 l another North raised to 3♦, passed South will then pass. East may fear 1♥
♠ 8 2 ♠ J 9 7 4 by South. will make and so bid 2♣.
N
♥ A J 8 4 2 W E ♥ Q 7 6
♦ J 8 S ♦ Q 6 So, when played at our club, we had West North East South
♣ 10 9 7 2 ♣ A J 4 3 the following contracts: 1♥ Pass Pass
♠ K 6 5 Dbl All Pass
♥ 10 9 3 3♠ North –1
♦ A K 9 4 3 3NT North +2
♣ Q 6 1♠ North +3 In Our Club . . .
3♦ South +2
In practice, when North opened 1♥,
Although no contracts are the West doubled:
Recommended Bidding ‘recommended’ one, they have been
reached by generally used Acol l one East passed and so did South;
Maybe one of the sequences below principles. l one East took out the double to 2♣,
would be recommended. The tens in South bid 2♥ and was lucky not to
the North hand make it worth a raise be doubled.
to 3NT rather than 2NT. ♣♦♥♠
When North opened 1♠, the West
West North East South hand did not fit a double:
1NT Board B
Pass 3NT All Pass l one West passed;
l one West overcalled 2♦ and North
West North East South Dealer North. Love All. ended in 3♠.
1NT ♠ A Q 3 2
Pass 2♣* Pass 2♦* ♥ Q J 10 7 So, when played at our club, we had
Pass 3NT All Pass ♦ A J 5 the following contracts:
*Stayman ♣ Q 10
♠ K 10 7 4 ♠ 9 5 2♥ North –2
N
If a low heart is led, South can take the ♥ Void
W E
♥ K 9 6 5 3 2 1♥ Dbld North –1
♥K and cash winners to make 9 tricks. ♦ K Q 9 4 3 S ♦ 7 6 1♠ North –1
♣ A J 9 3 ♣ K 6 5 3♠ North –3
♠ J 8 6
In Our Club . . . ♥ A 8 4 Although the recommended Acol
♦ 10 8 2 opening is 1♥, planning to rebid in no-
At our club South often opened 1♦ ♣ 8 7 4 2 trumps, students can see that it is not
and: just they who forget this and open

BRIDGE December 2013 Page 17

 Real Results continued
The Olde
Barn
Hotel 1♠. It also highlights the di-
lemma caused by the double
a good result due to the
favourable vulnerability.
Marston,
Lincs NG32 2HT of a bid at the one level.

17-19 January 2014 £169 In Our Club . . .

Just Duplicate Bridge
♣♦♥♠
21-23 February £179 In practice, after East opened
Stayman & Transfers 1♦ and South overcalled 1♥:
14-16 March £169
Board C
l one West raised to 2♦
Just Duplicate Bridge
which was passed out;
25-27 April £179 Dealer South. E/W Vul. l one West bid 1♠ and
Will Parsons ♠ 10 6 reached 4♠.
Further into the Auction ♥ 9 7
9-11 May £179 ♦ A Q 5 When East opened 1♠,
Gwen Beattie – Overcalls ♣ J 7 6 5 4 3 preventing the 1♥ overcall
♠ Q 8 5 4 2 ♠ A K J 9 by South, two pairs stopped
16-18 May £169 N
♥ 8 6 5 4 W E ♥ A 10 in 3♠.
Just Duplicate Bridge
♦ K 10 8 S ♦ J 9 7 3 2
6-8 June £245 ♣ A ♣ Q 8 So, when played at our
Bernard Magee NEW ♠ 7 3 club, we had the following
TOPIC
Bidding ♥ K Q J 3 2 contracts:
Distributional Hands
♦ 6 4
13-15 June £169 ♣ K 10 9 2 3♠ East –1
Just Duplicate Bridge 2♦ East +3
4♠ West =
20-22 June £245
Bernard Magee
3♠ East +1
Finding Slams Recommended
Bidding North-South never played
27-29 June £169 in clubs and only one pair
Just Duplicate Bridge West North East South bid game.
11-13 July £169 Pass
Just Duplicate Bridge Pass Pass 1♦ 1♥
1♠ Pass* 2♠ Pass Conclusion
1-3 August £169
4♠ All Pass
Just Duplicate Bridge
When looking at your
29-31 August £169 West is worth a raise to 4♠ bridge bidding and play,
Diana Holland with the king in partner’s remember to look at what
Rubber / Chicago suit and singleton club. If others do, and don’t be too
12-14 September £169 North (at his Pass*) risks disappointed if you did
Just Duplicate Bridge 2♣, then South may find not achieve one person’s
a 5♣ sacrifice which gives ‘suggested result’. ■
26-28 September £179
Stan Powell

Bridge Tie
Declarer Play

10-12 October £245

Bernard Magee
Endplay & Avoidance £15 including postage & packing

14-16 November £179 From Mr Bridge

Will Parsons – Doubles
( 01483 489961
www.mrbridge.co.uk
Full Board
No Single Supplement
See Mail Order Form on page 7
Booking Form on page 8.

Page 18 BRIDGE December 2013

 Answers to Bernard Magee’s
Bidding Quizzes 4-6 on the Cover
4. Dealer West. Game All.
♠ J 6 ♠ A 9 5 3
N
♥ A K 8 7 6
W E
♥ 4 2
♦ A J 3 2 S ♦ 8 7 6
♣ 7 2 ♣ A K 9 8
West North East South
1♥ 1NT Dbl 2♣
? it might also mean that they have a very
Pass. What does the auction mean so
far? North has shown a strong balanced
hand and your partner has made a
penalty double. Almost all doubles of
no-trump bids are for penalties. South
has bid 2♣ which has not been alerted,
so it must show a natural suit. South is
trying to escape from 1NT doubled: he
likely has 0-2 points and long clubs.
Your partner’s double has identified
that your side has the majority of the
points. There may be a temptation to bid
out your hand by bidding 2♦ (showing
five hearts and four diamonds), but that
gives up on one important option, which
is when your partner wants to penalise
2♣. If he is long in clubs, he will double
for penalties (after a first penalty double
all subsequent doubles should also be
for penalties).
Your partner will bid again: he will
Improve Your DECLARER PLAY
with Bernard Magee
l Suit Establishment in No-trumps
l Suit Establishment in Suits
l Hold-ups
l Ruffing for Extra Tricks
l Entries in No-trumps
System Requirements
Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8,
8mb RAM, CD-ROM
See Mail Order Form on page 7.
BRIDGE December 2013 Page 19
want to compete over 2♣, knowing that
your side has the majority of strength.
Had he not been long in clubs, he would
have bid another suit.
However, on this occasion your partner
is happy to play in 2♣ doubled and will
hope for at least two off, which would be
worth 500 points.
5. Dealer West. N/S Game.
♠ K Q J 10 9 8 7 ♠ 2
N
♥ Void
W E
♥ Q J 10 7 6
♦ 4 3 2 S ♦ A K 6
♣ 6 5 4 ♣ J 9 8 7
West North East South
3♠ Dbl Pass 4♥
? ♥ K Q 9 3 N
Pass. This is a common trick question.
The vulnerability is set to tempt you in.
You are at favourable vulnerability, so
that if 4♥ is making, then surely 4♠ will
be a good sacrifice. That is indeed good
reasoning – 4♠ will be a good sacrifice if
4♥ is making. However, who is the only
player who knows whether 4♥ is making?
Your partner. He knows what you hold –
you have advertised a 7-card spade suit
in a weak hand already. If he thinks 4♥
l Delaying Drawing Trumps
l Using the Lead
l Trump Control
l Endplays & Avoidance
l Using the Bidding
£76
including postage and packing
is making, he can bid 4♠ himself. On this
occasion, it does not take too much nous
to work out that 4♥ is not making and he
will double it.
Your opponents are in a 4-4 heart fit,
which, with a normal 3-2 break, might
allow them to make 4♥. However, with
the bad break, they will really struggle.
The void in your hand might make it look
as though they have a big heart fit, but
bad break.
Once you have pre-empted, you
should not bid again unless your partner
asks you to.
6. Dealer West. Game All.
♠ Q 3 2 ♠ 9 8 7
♥ A J 10 5
W E
♦ A 2 S ♦ J 8 4 3
♣ A 9 8 6 ♣ 7 2
West North East South
1♥ Pass 2♥ Pass
?
Pass. Your partner has made a weak
response, but he has shown support. He
has shown 6-9 points which added to
your 15 HCP leaves you short of game.
Although you had planned to rebid
1NT with your hand, those plans are
changed if your partner makes a limit
bid response. A limit bid is when you
describe your hand neatly: he has shown
6-9 points which allows you to assess
the prospects of the partnership. Had he
responded simply 1♠, you would have
rebid 1NT to show 15-17 points: a limit
bid of your own.
Once one player has limited his hand,
it is up to the other player to estimate the
level of the final contract.
Counting losing tricks, you must
remember to devalue your queens by
themselves. In spades, you should count
2½ losers: this gives 6½ in total; not
enough to try for game. ■
 BERNARD MAGEE
Mr Bridge at
Festive 2013/2014 Denham Grove
near Uxbridge, Bucks, UB9 5DG.

Denham 10-13 January 2014

Grove
Near Uxbridge, £399 full board
UB9 5DU
Hosted by Jo Walch
Topics
23-27 Dec Just Duplicate Bridge £495
(with a small section for rubber/Chicago with Diana Holland) SACRIFICING
An exciting aspect of the auction is outbidding your
27-29 Dec Signals and Discards £215 opponents and going down, but gaining by doing so.
Learning to bid more aggressively and make the best
29 Dec–2 Jan Doubles £445 of your cards will enhance both your scores and your
enjoyment levels.

TRUMP CONTROL
The Olde Handling the play of the hand when trumps break badly is
an important attribute: playing calmly and using a variety

Barn of tactics to pave the way to success.

Marston, Lincs, WEAK TWOS

NG32 2HT
Hosted by Val Passmore
23-27 Dec Just Duplicate Bridge £495
27-29 Dec Finding Slams £215
29 Dec–1 Jan Leads and Defence £445
It is important to bid more in the modern game and weak
twos are an important choice for the competitive player.
They allow for pre-emptive and accurate bidding.
DEFENSIVE PLAN
Looking at your own hand, then at dummy and envisaging
how partner’s hand will allow you to make a plan for the
defence. By having a framework to make your way across
you will hopefully learn to identify various defensive
situations and solve the problems you face.

FURTHER IN TO THE AUCTION

Inn on The first two bids of an auction are usually easy, but
beyond that the complications increase. Learn about your
the Prom various options and how to ‘talk’ to your partner during
the bidding.
St Annes-on-Sea,
FY8 1LU IMPROVING BRIDGE MEMORY
Remembering every card is a dream for most of us.
Hosted by Bernard Magee However, learn ways in which to remember the important
things. What was the first discard or how many trumps
27-29 Dec Signals and Discards £245 are left out?

( 01483 489961 6 seminar sessions with Bernard1

e-mail: jessica@mrbridge.co.uk 6 sessions of supervised play2
website: www.holidaybridge.com Contact Mr Bridge to book your place
or for further details: ( 01483 489961
Booking Form on page 8.
Filmed
1 2
Not with Bernard Magee

Page 20 BRIDGE December 2013

 Answers to Bernard Magee’s
Bidding Quizzes 7-9 on the Cover
7. Dealer East. Love All.
♠ 3 2 ♠ A 9 8 6 4
♥ A Q 10 9 N ♥ 7
W E
♦ 8 7 6 3 S
♦ A K 4
♣ A 10 5 ♣ Q J 3 2
West North East South
1♠ 2♥
?
Pass. Your partner opens 1♠ and South
surprises you by overcalling 2♥. You
would like to make a penalty double,
but most players play doubles of suit
bids on the first round for take-out, so
your partner would respond. The other
obvious option is 2NT: showing 10-
12 points and a heart stop. This is a
reasonable choice, but it does give up on
the opportunity for a good penalty.
If South and you are long in hearts,
then your partner is likely to be short.
When the bidding goes around to your
partner, as the last player to bid he
should try hard to make a call: borrow-
ing a king from you to help him.
Here, East will make a take-out dou-
ble and you will pass this with glee. You
might take 2♥ doubled as many as four
off for 800 points (twice the value of a
game).
When you want to make a penalty
double, but your system does not allow
it, then consider passing and hoping that
your partner will make a take-out double
which you can then pass.
8. Dealer East. Game All.
♠ A K 7 6 ♠ 2
N
♥ 7 2
W E
♥ A K J 10 3
♦ A 9 8 3 S ♦ K Q 5 4
♣ K 9 3 ♣ 8 4 2
West North East South
1♥ Pass
1♠ Pass 2♦ Pass
? 1♠ Pass 1NT Pass
3NT. You have 14 HCP, which, opposite
an opening hand is enough for game,
but which game?
With three suits bid, the focus is on the
fourth suit: clubs. You have the ♣K and
that should be enough to persuade you
to bid no-trumps. And with the strength
for game you should jump to 3NT.
The problem with supporting dia-
monds is that your partner, with a mini-
mum hand, might pass, especially if he
has no club stop.
As long as you play the no-trumps your-
self, then a king is good enough to stop a
suit. There is some risk involved, but no-
trumps so often pay dividends when the
final scores appear on the traveller.
9. Dealer West. Love All.
♠ A K 8 5 4 ♠ 9 2
♥ K Q 3 2 N ♥ 8 6
W E
♦ K 7 S ♦ Q J 4 2
♣ 6 2 ♣ A 9 7 5 3
West North East South
2♥ Pass 2♠ Pass
?
Pass. It looks as though East has shown
support for your spades, so it is tempting
to count your losers and bid accordingly.
Five losers would suggest bidding
towards game. However, your partner’s
2♠ bid is a preference bid rather than a
supporting bid. A lot of the time, he will

The Inn on the Prom

have just two-card spade support. Your
hand is worth so much less if you do not
have a fit.
St Annes-on-Sea FY8 1LU On most hands, when East has decent
three-card spade support (with a little
distribution), he does best to respond
27-29 December 2013 2♠ directly rather than 1NT. This means
Bernard Magee that even when partner has three spades
he will be flat and weak, which will put
Signals & Discards – £245
game out of reach.
One more important aspect about your
21-23 March 2014
hand is the evaluation of 5-4 hands in the
Bernard Magee losing trick count. It does not differentiate
Doubles – £245 between hands with two doubletons and
hands with a singleton and a tripleton.
Hands with a singleton are much more
Full Board. No Single Supplement.
desirable, whilst two doubletons should
Booking Form on page 8. generally slow your bidding down. Here,
2♠ is certainly high enough. ■

BRIDGE December 2013 Page 21

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 Answers to Bernard Magee’s
Bidding Quizzes 10-12 on the Cover
10. Dealer North. Love All.
♠ 4 3 2 ♠ A K 8 7 6 5
N
♥ K Q 8 6 5
W E
♥ 3 2
♦ 9 3 S ♦ A 4 2
♣ 9 7 6 ♣ 10 8
West North East South
1♣ 1♠ Pass
? taking his time to find the best contract,
2♠. Show support when you can. Your
partner has made an overcall, which
should promise five or more cards in his
suit, which means you need just three
cards to support.
You might think that 1♠ is high enough,
but that is to forget about your oppo-
nents. North will surely be bidding again
and his side will try to bid higher.
If you pass 1♠, his life is easy, he can
bid at the 2-level or make a take-out
double. Instead, your raise to 2♠ puts
him under pressure: bidding at the 3-lev-
Mr Bridge
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BRIDGE December 2013 Page 23
 
el is riskier. 3♠. When your partner opens 2♣ and
Furthermore, it tells your partner that rebids in a suit, he is showing a hand that
you have a few trumps for him, which wants to play in game even if you hold a
means he can compete even further. 3♠ Yarborough.
might go one off, but this will be better You must keep bidding until a game
than allowing your opponents to make contract is reached. Your 2♦ was the
3♣. When you remember that going off negative response and then 2NT was a
is not such a bad thing in bridge, then second negative, showing 0-3 points.
you should be inspired to bid on weaker Partner knows now that you are very
and weaker hands. weak but you still have to bid. East is
showing his four hearts before reverting
to spades if necessary.
11. Dealer East. Love All. With equal length in partner’s two
♠ 3 2 ♠ A K J 7 6 5 suits, you give preference to the first bid
N
♥ 8 7
W E
♥ A K 9 5 suit: spades. Over 3♠, East will make a
♦ 9 5 4 3 S ♦ A K slam try of 4♦, but you would rebid 4♠ to
♣ 10 7 6 5 2 ♣ 3 end the auction.
West North East South
2♣ Pass 12. Dealer North. Game All.
2♦ Pass 2♠ Pass ♠ 6 4 2 ♠ 9 8 7 3
N
2NT Pass 3♥ Pass ♥ 5 4 2 W E
♥ A K 3
? ♦ 8 3 S ♦ K Q J 10
♣ K Q 6 5 3 ♣ A 2
West North East South
?
1NT Dbl Pass
Pass. Your partner has made a penalty
double of North’s 1NT. You have a weak
Standard Faces hand with a five-card suit, so you might
with or without be tempted to rescue your partner.
However, your partner will not nec-
bar codes. Unboxed. essarily be disappointed by your hand:
he has shown about 16 points, so that
6 red / 6 blue leaves your side with the majority and
£19.95 therefore favourites to defeat 1NT.
Furthermore, your partner might have
30 red / 30 blue more than 16 points which means 1NT is
only £60 very likely to be defeated. 1NT doubled
one off vulnerable is worth 200 which is
much more than is possible from a 2♣
contract. It is possible that 1NT might
make on some days, but more often than
not, you will be able to defeat 1NT and
get a great score. ■
 BRIDGE CRUISES TO TH

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 Denham
Grove Things You
Should
Denham,
Bucks, UB9 5DG
10-13 Jan 2014 – £399
Know About . . .
by Andrew Kambites
Filming Weekend
Bernard Magee
7-9 February – £199
Just Duplicate Bridge
M
28-30 March – £199
Just Duplicate Bridge r Bridge has
4-6 April – £169 invited me to
Rubber / Chicago write a new series
Diana Holland
entitled, ‘Things you should
4-6 July 2014 – £199 know about . . .’ I have
Just Duplicate Bridge started with 12 articles on
the most important aspects
Full Board
of the uncontested auction.
No Single Supplement
Some of my articles will be
Booking Form on page 8. on basic bridge knowledge.
The emphasis will be on
explaining why something
is the recommended path,
RUBBER / rather that just telling you
what to do. Too many
CHICAGO people decide on a system
as though it is a series of
EVENTS unconnected decisions.
Any good system is
Chatsworth Hotel an integrated whole, put
Worthing BN11 3DU
together as a result of many
7-9 February 2014 years of experience by strong
with Sheila Rogers players. One part affects the
rest. For example, I will be
Denham Grove recommending that you
Bucks UB9 5DG open all balanced hands in
4-6 April the 12-14 point range with
with Diana Holland 1NT, even if you have a weak
doubleton. There are huge
hidden gains by doing this,
The Olde Barn for example, if you open 1♠
Marston, and rebid 2♥, you guarantee
Lincs NG32 2HT five spades. Of course, you
29-31 August may decide not to accept
with Diana Holland my recommendation about
opening 1NT with a small
doubleton, but then you
£169 Full Board must accept that there are
No Single Supplement drawbacks that you might
Booking Form on page 8. not have anticipated. I
would strongly advise
Page 26 BRIDGE December 2013
you not to reinvent the
wheel: the large number of
homegrown systems that
I see at club level have the
disadvantage of bypassing
the accumulated experience
of experts over many years.
Other articles will feature
common conventional bids.
I have criteria I apply to
conventions.
First Criterion
Any convention invariably
replaces a natural bid.
For example, the best of
all conventions, Stayman,
prevents you from signing
off in 2♣. Is that a price
worth paying? The answer is
a very strong Yes. Finding a
4-4 major suit fit is far more
important than signing off
in 2♣.
Second Criterion
How often does it occur? If
the answer is every week,
it is worth the effort in
learning it and you won’t
forget it at the table. If it
occurs once a year, then
inevitably one of you will
get it wrong. Of course,
the more you play with a
partner, the more ambitious
you can be in your system.
Third Criterion
In real life, does it gain or
lose? I am afraid that Gerber
fails my test.
In real life, people regu-
larly have misunderstand-
ings about when 4♣ is or
isn’t Gerber. Bridge is a
game played by fallible hu-
man beings and any con-
vention which does not rec-
ognise this is flawed.
Whatever the merits of a
convention, do understand
that all conventions need
discussion and such discus-
sion can only take place in a
regular partnership.
If you sit down for a casual
session opposite somebody
you hardly know, you might
both agree to play red suit
transfers, but that does not
necessarily mean you mean
the same thing.
My articles try to
anticipate problems, for
example, if 1NT is doubled,
is 2♣ still Stayman? If you
and your partner both
study my ideas and accept
them, you should find them
helpful.
I will also try to advise
you whether your partner’s
bid needs announcing or
alerting under current EBU
rules.
Good luck, and enjoy
your bridge. ■
 Things You Should Know by Andrew Kambites
A
n opening bid of 2♥ or
2♠ shows a 6-card suit
and 6-10 points.
Some pairs prefer to play it as 5-9, or
maybe 5-9 when non-vulnerable, but
6-10 if vulnerable. That is a matter of
personal choice.
Some pairs play weak two bids in the
major suits as part of Benjaminised
Acol. Others play 2♦ as a weak two bid
as well – a method known as ‘Three
weak twos.’
♣♦♥♠
G
enerally, opener should
have a good suit and
most of his points in his
long suit so that responder can
judge accurately what to do.
The reason is that, if you have a weak
hand but a strong suit, unless that suit
is trumps, the hand may well prove
useless.
Layout A
♠ K Q J 7 6 5 ♠ 8
♥ 8 6 N ♥ A Q 3 2
W E
♦ J 10 2 S ♦ K 8 3
♣ 6 5 ♣ A Q 7 4 2
The hands don’t fit well but, if spades
are trumps, you will probably make 4
or 5 spade tricks. You will also be able
to use spades (by trumping) as entries
to the West hand to take finesses. It is
even possible that you might be able
BRIDGE December 2013 Page 27
Weak
Twos
to ruff the clubs good. On the other
hand, suppose you try playing it in no-
trumps. The defenders will find it easy
to cut you off from the spade suit and
you will end up having to lead away
from the tenaces in the East hand: a
pretty horrific prospect.
♣♦♥♠
I
f you open a weak 2♥ or
2♠, usually you should not
have four cards in the other
major.
This is because the responses are so
geared to playing in opener’s suit. If
you choose to open 2♠ when you also
have 4 hearts, you have no chance
whatsoever of finding a 4-4 heart fit.
In practice, you might well miss a 5-4
heart fit, as seen in Layout B.
♣♦♥♠
I
f you decide to depart from
the strict criteria for weak
twos, the best time to do so
is third in hand: the worst is
second in hand.
This is true for pre-empts in general.
The reasoning is this. If you pre-empt,
then, provided your pre-empts are
predictable, partner is in the privileged
position of being the player at the table
best able to know what is going on.
From now on, he will take decisions.
For example, if the opponents overcall
and he doubles, that is for penalties
and if you remove his double, that
would suggest that you have a guilty
conscience about your pre-empt.
So does it matter if you mislead
partner? After all, you will be
misleading two opponents and only
one partner.
The biggest gain comes when
opponents are strong and you bully
them out of their best contract. The
greatest cost comes when partner is
strong and misjudges. If you are in
second seat, one of your opponents
has passed already. That increases
the chances that your partner may be
strong. To see the dangers of this, look
at Layout B.
Layout B
♠ A 8 6 5 4 3 ♠ 9
♥ K 8 6 5 N ♥ Q J 7 3 2
W E
♦ 8 6 S ♦ A K 7 5
♣ 2 ♣ A 7 6
West North East South
Pass
2♠ All Pass
West’s 2♠ pre-empt in second seat is
highly undisciplined. The spades are
weak (poor intermediates) and he has
4 hearts. East has a misfitting 14 points
and could not see where 10 tricks for
game could come from so, correctly,
he passed. Of course, 4♥ is the right
contract.
Third in hand, the situation is very
different. East has passed already so he
cannot have the East hand in
 Weak Twos continued
Layout B. If West chooses to open 2♠,
he can at least do so in the knowledge
that his partner is unlikely to do
anything but pass, so he is safer in
taking unilateral action.
Note that you have every right to
open 2♥ or 2♠ with a 5-card suit, but
if you do so regularly, your convention
card must say so. Whatever your
agreement, I would doubt if there is
a good player in the country playing
weak two bids who would not open 2♠
on Hand C, third in hand with only
the opponents vulnerable. Passing is
an open invitation for opponents to
bid and make 4♥.
Hand C
♠ K Q J 10 9
♥ 9 8 ♣♦♥♠
♦ J 10 9 8
♣ 7 4
Sadly, there are some opponents who
would object. Provided they have
not been misinformed, no laws have
been broken. Perhaps they would not
do it. We all need to understand that
nobody at the bridge table has the
right to impose their judgement on
others. Intolerance drives people away
from the game.
♣♦♥♠
F
ourth in hand, it makes
sense for a weak two bid
to show 10-14 points and
a 6-card suit.
If 3 players have passed, you are highly
unlikely to have fewer than 10 points.
Hand D
♠ 9 7
♥ A Q J 7 6 5
♦ K Q 6 ♣♦♥♠
♣ 10 4
Of course, this hand qualifies for a 1♥
bid, but you don’t really want to start a
Page 28 BRIDGE December 2013
competitive auction (ie the opponents
overcalling your 1♥ opening bid with
1♠ and outbidding you in the higher
ranking suit). Usually, partner will
pass but, knowing that you are in the
10-14 range, there is nothing to prevent
him bidding on with a suitable, well
fitting hand.
♣♦♥♠
I
f your partner opens a weak
two bid and you have a
misfit, be cautious in the
bidding.
Layout A demonstrates a hand where
East has good opening values but
can only pass West’s 2♠ opening bid.
Looking at Layout A, the correct
contract is 2♠. Even that modest
contract could fail if finesses lose and
spades break 4-2.
I
f your partner opens a weak
two, usually the correct
contract has his suit as
trumps.
In Layout E, West opens 2♠. East
realises there is a misfit but, with this
excellent hand, game is obvious. The
only good game contract is 4♠ and
that is what East should bid.
Layout E
♠ K Q J 7 6 5 ♠ 8
♥ 8 6 N ♥ A K 3 2
W E
♦ J 10 2 S ♦ A K 3
♣ 6 5 ♣ A Q 7 4 2
Try comparing this with Layout F.
Layout F
♠ K Q J 7 6 5 ♠ A 8 3 2
♥ 8 6 N ♥ 9 4 3
W E
♦ J 10 2 S ♦ K 9 6 5 4
♣ 6 5 ♣ 4
The bidding is identical. West opens
2♠ and East raises to 4♠. This time,
East is not expecting to make 4♠. He
is aware of the excellent East/West
spade fit and realises that, if North/
South can get into the bidding, they
can almost certainly make a game or
slam of their own. 4♠ is pre-emptive.
In each of these cases, the bidding
will come to South after this sequence:
West North East South
2♠ Pass 4♠ ?
Poor South. East could have a
powerhouse (as in Layout E), delighted
to double South if he dares enter the
auction. Or East could just be pre-
empting North/South out of their
rightful dues as in Layout F. South has
no way of knowing.
♣♦♥♠
O
pposite a weak two
bid, a change of suit is
natural and forcing.
Partner will expect a 6-card suit:
maybe a very good 5-card suit can be
justified.
It is a wide ranging principle of pre-
empting that, unless the pre-empt
runs into a penalty double, you should
not try to ‘rescue’ partner. Suppose
partner opens a weak 2♥.
Hand G Hand H
♠ Q J 8 7 6 5 ♠ Q J 8 7 6 5
♥ Void ♥ Void
♦ A Q 6 3 ♦ A Q 6 3
♣ Q 3 2 ♣ A K 2
With Hand G, you have no option but
to pass. Yes, 2♠ might be better but
you don’t have the option of playing in
2♠. If you try 2♠, what are you going to
do if partner rebids 3♥?
With Hand H, you have not given
up on game, so start with 2♠. Partner
will try to avoid rebidding his hearts
and should support you with ♠K-2 or
♠4-3-2. If he just rebids 3♥, I would
give up on game and pass.
A
direct raise of a weak
two to the three level
is pre-emptive, not a
game try.
 Weak Twos continued
Layout K
♠ 8 7 2 ♠ 6 4 3
♥ A Q 10 7 6 5 N ♥ J 4 3
W E
In Layout J, West opens 2♥ and East ♦ 9 8 S ♦ A Q J
raises to 3♥. ♣ 6 5 ♣ A K 4 3
Layout J West East
♠ 8 7 ♠ 9 4 3 2♥ 2NT1
♥ A Q J 7 6 5 N ♥ K 4 2 3♦2 3♥3
W E
♦ Q 10 7 S ♦ K J 5
♣ 7 5 ♣ A 9 4 2 1
Conventional and asking. Reasonable
because of the good (9-card) trump
fit.
East reasons thus: 2
Minimum hand, good suit (2 of the
If West is maximum, 3♥ may make. top 3 honours).
If West is minimum, 3♥ may fail 3
High enough. If West has at most
but, in that case, surely North/South 8 points and two top honours, he
can make 3♠ or even 4♠. It is sensible cannot have anything outside trumps.
to make it hard for North/South to Looking at the two hands, you can see
enter the auction. Note that West is that 4♥ requires both red suit finesses
maximum for 2♥ but doesn’t double- to work: not good odds.
cross East by raising 3♥ to 4♥.
In Layout L, the 2NT asking bid gets a
♣♦♥♠ reply promising more points.
O
pposite a weak two
bid, a 2NT response Layout L
is conventional and ♠ A 7 2 ♠ 6 4 3
forcing, accepting opener’s ♥ A 10 9 8 6 5 N ♥ J 4 3
W E
suit as trumps and asking ♦ 9 8 S ♦ A Q J
him to clarify further. This is ♣ Q 5 ♣ A K 4 3
called the Ogust convention.
Requirements: 16+ or a little
less with a good fit. West East
2♥ 2NT1
There are various types of responses 3♥2 4♥3
but the following, known as Blue Club
responses, are the most popular. 1
2NT is conventional and asking.
Opener is required to make two Reasonable because of the good (9-
decisions: card) trump fit.
i) In the context of his weak two bid, 2
3♥ shows maximum hand, but denies
is his hand minimum (6 to bad 8 two of the top three honours.
points) or maximum (good 8 to 10 3
You would be unlucky to fail in game.
points)?
ii) Is his suit good (ie 2 of the top 3 Sometimes, the 2NT Ogust enquiry
trump honours) or bad? can lead to a surprising choice of game
The responses to 2NT are as follows: contract.
In Layout M, the 2NT asking bid
3♣ shows minimum hand, bad suit. also gets a more promising reply.
3♦ shows minimum hand, good suit.
3♥ shows maximum hand, bad suit.
3♠ shows maximum hand, good suit. Layout M
3NT shows solid trumps (ie A K Q). ♠ 7 4 2 ♠ Q J 6
Obviously nothing outside. ♥ A K Q 8 7 6 N ♥ J 3 2
W E
♦ 6 3 S ♦ A K Q 4
In Layout K, East is not encouraged ♣ 9 5 ♣ K J 10
by West’s response to 2NT.
BRIDGE December 2013 Page 29
West East
2♥ 2NT1
3NT2 Pass3
1
Conventional and asking.
2
♥A-K-Q.
3
East had been intending to play in
hearts but now he can count 9 top
tricks in no-trumps. He has a stopper
in every suit, so settles for the obvious
game.
Note that 4♥ could easily fail if the
defenders manage a spade ruff, or lead
a club through your ♣K-J-10.
♣♦♥♠
I
f you open a weak two bid,
you must never bid again
unless your partner invites
you to do so.
This is a statement of the obvious
because it is true for all pre-emptive
bids.
However, let me stress it. Suppose
you open 2♥ with this hand.
Hand N
♠ 8
♥ A K J 10 8 7
♦ J 9 3 2
♣ 8 6
Your left hand opponent overcalls
with 3♣ and it is passed back to you.
Yes, you are maximum. However, it is
an act of betrayal of partner to bid 3♥
or 3♦.
The argument, ‘I have no defence
to 3♣,’ implies you think of bridge as
an individual rather than partnership
game. You have no idea what partner
has: he has a far better idea of your
hand. He has decided it is best to
defend 3♣.
When this hand occurred at the
table West could not bring himself to
pass.
West North East South
2♥ 3♣ Pass Pass
3♥ 3♠ Pass 4♠
End
The opponents made 4♠ with an
overtrick. ■
 Bernard Magee’s Tips
for Better Bridge
65 invaluable tips in 160 pages
Bidding Tips
1 Always consider bidding
spades if you can
2 Bid more aggressively
when non-vulnerable
3 Always double when the
opponents steal your deal
4 A takeout double shows
shortage in the suit doubled
5 ‘Borrow’ a king
to keep the auction open
6 After a penalty double,
don’t let the opponents escape
7 Halve the value of a singleton
honour when opening
8 Only add length-points for a
suit that might be useful
9 Isolated honours are bad
except in partner’s suit
10 Use the jump shift sparingly
11 Consider passing and letting
partner decide
12 You need two top honours
for a second-seat pre-empt
13 Put the brakes on if you have a
misfit
14 Strong and long minors work
well in no-trumps
15 One stop in the opponents’ suit
can be enough for no-trumps
16 Keep your two-level
responses up to strength
17 Use your normal methods in
response to a 1NT overcall
18 Don’t overcall just because
you have opening points
19 Overcalls can be quite weak,
so be prudent when responding
20 Weak overcalls must be based
on strong suits
21 6NT requires 33 points
not 4 aces and 4 kings
22 Raise immediately, if weak
with four-card support
23 In a competitive auction,
show support immediately
24 Bid to the level of your fit
quickly with weak hands
25 With strength and support,
use the opponents’ bid suit
Declarer Play Tips
26 When your contract depends
on a finesse, think ‘endplay’
27 Consider what a defender
might be thinking about
28 Always take your time
at trick one
29 Establish extra tricks before
cashing your winners
30 Use your opponents’
bidding to your advantage
31 Avoid the ‘baddie’
gaining the lead
32 Use the Rule of Seven when
holding up in no-trumps
£14 including postage and packing from Mr Bridge,
Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH. ( 01483 489961
Page 30 BRIDGE December 2013
Things You Should Know
About Weak Twos Quiz
by Andrew Kambites
(Answers on page 47)
33 A low lead usually promises
length and an honour 1 Consider Hands A, B, C and D. Which of these hands
34 When declaring 1NT, is suitable for a weak 2♠ opening bid with nobody
try to be patient
35 Duck an early round when vulnerable:
you are short of entries Second in hand (ie after one pass)?
36 Lead up to your Third in hand (ie after two passes)?
two-honour holding
37 Do not always assume
a suit will break well
38 Drop a high card Hand A Hand B Hand C Hand D
to put off the defence
♠ K Q 10 9 6 2 ♠ K Q 10 9 6 2 ♠ J 7 6 4 3 2 ♠ A Q J 8 7
39 Play your highest card to tempt
a defender to cover ♥ 8 ♥ K 9 5 3 ♥ K 9 4 ♥ 9 7
40 Draw trumps first unless you ♦ K 9 5 3 ♦ 8 ♦ A 3 2 ♦ J 10 6
have a good reason not to ♣ 9 7 ♣ 9 7 ♣ 6 ♣ 6 3 2
41 Do not waste your trumps
42 Consider leaving a lone defen-
sive trump winner out
Defence Tips
43 Keep four-card suits intact
whenever possible 2 At love all your partner opens a weak 2♠ first in hand
44 Give count on declarer’s leads and the next hand passes. What should you bid with
45 Keep the right cards
rather than signal Hands E to M?
46 Take your time
when dummy is put down
47 High cards are for killing
Hand E Hand F Hand G Hand H
other high cards
48 Do not waste ♠ J ♠ J ♠ K 8 7 ♠ 7
intermediate cards ♥ A Q 9 7 ♥ A J 7 6 ♥ 6 3 ♥ A Q J 8 7 2
49 Pick two key suits to ♦ A K 8 7 ♦ K Q 7 2 ♦ A J 9 2 ♦ A K Q 6
concentrate on during the play
50 If in doubt, cover an honour ♣ A Q 3 2 ♣ Q J 5 4 ♣ K 8 6 3 ♣ K 2
with an honour
51 If a lead is from two honours, it
is best not to cover
52 Keep your honour to kill
dummy’s honour Hand J Hand K Hand L Hand M
53 Try to show partner your ♠ K 7 ♠ K 7 2 ♠ 3 ♠ K 8 6 4
solid honour sequences ♥ 9 8 6 ♥ A K 8 ♥ A Q ♥ 7
54 Lead the normal card when
leading partner’s suit ♦ A J 5 4 ♦ A K Q J ♦ Q J 10 ♦ Q J 10 9 7
55 Never underlead an ace at trick ♣ A K 3 2 ♣ A Q 2 ♣ A K Q J 8 7 2 ♣ 7 3 2
one in a suit contract
56 Be wary of leading from
four cards to only one honour
57 Lead a higher card from
a suit without an honour
58 Lead through ‘beatable’ 3 As West, you open a weak 2♥ with Hands N, Q, R and
strength and up to weakness
59 Cash your winners before try- S. What is your rebid if the auction continues as shown?
ing for a trump promotion
60 Be patient when defending
1NT West North East South
61 Trump leads can be safe 2♥ Pass 2NT Pass
throughout the play
?
General Tips
62 Do not put important cards
at either end of your hand
Hand N Hand Q Hand R Hand S
63 Avoid being declarer when
you are dummy ♠ 9 8 ♠ 9 8 ♠ 9 8 ♠ 9 8
64 Before you lead, ask for a ♥ A J 9 7 6 4 ♥ A Q 9 8 7 6 ♥ A J 9 8 7 6 ♥ A K 10 8 5 4
review of the auction ♦ J 10 5 ♦ 8 6 5 ♦ K J 9 ♦ K 6 5
65 Enjoy the Game!
♣ 4 2 ♣ 4 2 ♣ 4 2 ♣ 4 2
 Answers to Julian Pottage’s 
Defence Quiz on page 9
West North East South spades straight away. For one thing,
1. ♠ K 1NT partner would have played the lower of
♥ A 7 5 Pass 3NT End touching honours at trick one if holding
♦ A Q J 9 6 5 the ♠A-K. For another, South needs the
♣ A 8 2 You lead the ♠3. Partner wins with the ♠K ♠K to have 12+ points.
♠ Q 10 7 2 ♠ A 9 6 4 3 and returns the ♠5, on which South plays Fortunately, as you have the ♦K, you
N
♥ K J 6 ♥ 10 8 4 2 the ♠J. What do you do? hope to enjoy the spades later. As the ♠2
W E
♦ 10 4 S ♦ 7 3 A count of points tells you that partner is missing, partner may well have started
♣ Q 9 6 4 ♣ J 3 can have at most a queen as well as the with five spades.
♠ J 8 5 ♠K. You had 10 points, dummy had 13 This being so, you want partner to win
♥ Q 9 3 and declarer had 12-14, leaving at most the fourth round. So win with the ♠9 (not
♦ K 8 2 5 for partner. the ♠6) and use the ♠10 to drive out the
♣ K 10 7 5 This being the case, declarer has nine ♠K, unblocking the suit.
top tricks: the ♥A, the ♣A-K and six
diamonds.
West North East South To defeat the contract, your side needs
1♦ Pass 1NT to win the first five tricks. Partner’s return 4. ♠ K 7
Pass 3NT End of the ♠5 is good news: it must be fourth ♥ K Q J 9 5
highest, which means South has only ♦ A J 10 5
You lead the ♠2, won by the ♠A (♠5 from one spade left. If you take the ♠A and ♣ 10 2
South). Partner returns the ♠4, covered ♠10, you will make only four spade tricks ♠ Q 10 6 5 ♠ 8 4 2
by the ♠J. What do you do? because partner will have to win the ♥ A 10 6 N ♥ 8 7 4
W E
This is an easy one to start with. From fourth round. Instead, having taken the ♦ 6 4 S ♦ K 8 7 3
the bidding, you place declarer with only ♠A, lead a low spade: the ♠2 and hope ♣ Q J 9 5 ♣ K 7 3
three spades; this means the suit is ready partner holds the ♠9. ♠ A J 9 3
to run. ♥ 3 2
Since partner has more spades than ♦ Q 9 2
you do, you want to get your high spades ♣ A 8 6 4
out of the way. 3. ♠ Q
So take the ♠Q, cash the ♠10 and play ♥ A 7 5
a fourth round. If your partner had the ♦ Q J 9 8 6 5 West North East South
♦K, it would not matter if you played the ♣ A 8 2 1♥ Pass 1♠
spades less efficiently – but there is no ♠ J 10 9 6 ♠ A 8 7 4 2 Pass 2♦ Pass 2NT
need to rely on that. ♥ K J 6 N ♥ 10 8 4 Pass 3NT End
W E
♦ K 4 S ♦ 7 3
♣ J 9 5 4 ♣ Q 6 3 You lead the ♣Q. Partner plays the ♣7
♠ K 5 3 (high encourages, low discourages) and
2. ♠ Q ♥ Q 9 3 2 South the ♣4. How do you continue?
♥ A 7 5 ♦ A 10 2 Since the ♣6 and ♣3 are missing, you
♦ Q J 9 8 6 5 ♣ K 10 7 can reasonably assume the ♣7 is a high
♣ A 8 2 club, asking you to lead the suit again.
♠ A 10 4 3 2 ♠ K 9 6 5 While it may seem tempting to continue
N
♥ K J 6 W E ♥ 10 8 4 West North East South with the ♣J to ‘squash’ dummy’s ♣10,
♦ 10 4 S ♦ 7 3 1NT you do not need to do that. Partner
♣ Q 9 4 ♣ J 6 5 3 Pass 3NT End presumably holds the ♣A or ♣K and can
♠ J 8 7 beat the ♣10 anyway.
♥ Q 9 3 2 You lead the ♠J. Partner wins with the ♠A If, mistakenly, you lead the ♣J at trick
♦ A K 2 and returns the ♠4, covered by the ♠5. two, declarer can block the clubs by
♣ K 10 7 How do you defend? taking the ♣A and drive out your ♥A.
This time, your side cannot run the Lead the ♣5. ■

BRIDGE December 2013 Page 31

 Julian Pottage answers your bridge questions
A Reverse
Always Shows
Extra Values
Q A
What is the best Whether you are
way of bidding playing Standard
these hands (a) American or Acol,
playing 5-card majors a reverse shows extra
and (b) using standard values, 16 or 17 points plus.
Acol? Does a reverse Playing Acol and a weak
have the same meaning no-trump, North has to
in both systems? rebid 2♦. Playing Standard
American, North can again
rebid 2♦ or perhaps 1NT
♠ 9 (the 1NT rebid is a weak
♥ A J 6 2 action when playing a strong
♦ K 8 5 3 2 no-trump opening). 2♥
♣ A 10 5 is not the correct rebid in
either system. South would
N
W E pass 2♦ or take out 1NT.
S
A few pairs could reach a
♠ 8 7 6 5 2 club contract via 1♦-1♠-1NT-
♥ Q 5 2♣. To do that, you would
♦ 4 have to be playing a strong
♣ K Q J 9 7 no-trump, be comfortable
about rebidding 1NT with the
singleton and not be playing
Our sequence, playing any sort of checkback; this
5-card majors was: does not sound very likely.
North South ♣♦♥♠
1♦ 1♠
Q
2♥ 2♠ If partner opens
1NT, might it be a
Incidentally, our good idea to use
opponents failed to Stayman with the inten-
remove my trumps, tion of passing partner’s
so 2♠ made, giving us reply? The hands I am
a rather undeserved thinking about have only
top. Most pairs went one or two clubs, a 4-4-
down in something. 4-1 shape being ideal.
Anne Lee, Glasgow. John Watts by email.
Page 32 BRIDGE December 2013
A
Yes, with a weak
3-suited hand short
in clubs, it is a good
idea to respond Stayman to
partner’s 1NT and pass any
reply. A 4-4-4-1 or 4-4-5-
0 shape would be ideal. A
4-3-5-1 or 3-4-5-1 shape
is likely to be suitable too:
at worst, you will play in a
4-3 fit with any club ruffs
in the short trump hand. If
you are 4-3-4-2 or 3-4-4-2,
you are likely to be better
off passing: the chance of
finding a worthwhile fit is
not great and you are hardly
making life harder for your
opponents because you are
giving them two chances
to bid instead of one.
♣♦♥♠
Q
I always
understood
that a double
of 1NT is penalty. Now
I understand it could
be penalty or take-out
double. What is the
thinking behind this?
Niranjan Doshi by email.
A
If the opponents
open a weak 1NT,
almost everyone
plays double as for penalties.
You need to be able to show
a good hand when you have
one and to pick up a useful
penalty when your side has
the balance of power.
If they open a strong no-
trump, many people over
here still play the double as
for penalties. Remember,
if you have a good suit,
you have the advantage of
the opening lead, helping
you to win the race to set
up tricks. Moreover, if the
opening bid was on your
right, your high cards will be
in a good position relative
to the opener’s high cards.
In countries where almost
everyone plays a strong
no-trump, many people play
a double as conventional.
For example, some play
the double as either the
majors or the minors,
others as a 5-card minor
plus a 4-card major.
If you play the double
as conventional, partner
might judge to pass with
the right hand. Even if it is
conventional, doubling a
strong no-trump when you
have a hand weaker than
opener’s is risky. Sometimes
partner will have a weak
hand and no particular fit
for your suits.
 Ask Julian continued
Q
The way I
play Landy
(2♣ overcall
of 1NT to show the
majors) is as follows:
Non-Vulnerable: ♣ A 10
5-4 majors with 10+HCP with only four hearts.
5-5 majors with 7+ HCP
Vulnerable: emptive. At the
5-4 majors with 12 HCP
5-5 majors with 10 HCP
In reply, the only
artificial bid is 2♦,
asking for the longer
major. Does this all
seem reasonable?
Evan StClair Sepion,
East Horsley, Surrey.
A
Yes, we recommend
playing 2♣ over an
opposing 1NT as
showing both majors and
using 2♦ in reply to ask for
the longer major (usually
used with equal length).
Your point count
requirements also
look about right.
Bear in mind that,
especially at matchpoints,
whether the opponents
are vulnerable also has a
bearing. With neither side
vulnerable, anyone going
down is doing so at 50 a
time, so making a contract is
usually better than collecting
a penalty, while conceding
a penalty is usually better
than letting them make a
contract. This means you
are most inclined to bid with
neither side vulnerable.
♣♦♥♠
Q
Is there a way
to bid a grand
slam on the
hands below (North
dealer)? Nobody bid it.
As a more general point,
BRIDGE December 2013 Page 33
would you recommend
any particular bidding
method with Blackwood
or RKCB to show a void
in response to 4NT?
♠ Void
♥ K J 9 8 6 2
♦ A Q J 4 3
N
W E
S
♠ K 7 4
♥ A Q 7 5 4
♦ K 10
♣ K 7 4
David Brayshaw by email.
A
On the hands you
give, a possible
auction is:
North South
1♥ 2NT1
4♦2 4NT3
6♥4 7♥
1
Game forcing heart raise
(Jacoby).
2
Good second suit.
3
RKCB.
4
An odd number of key cards
and a void in a suit ranking
higher than the trump suit.
Various methods exist for
showing a void in reply to
4NT. Kantar recommends
that you bid 5NT with an
even number of key cards
plus a void, six of your void
(or the trump suit if the void
is in a higher-ranking suit)
if you have an odd number
of key cards plus a void. In
the latter case, you expect
partner to work out from your
previous bidding whether the
odd number is one or three.
A fair alternative is that
you reply at the six level if
you have a void, bidding
the same suit as you would
have done without the void
only one level higher. For
that to work you need to
be reasonably confident
that partner can work
out where your void is.
♣♦♥♠
Q
I know my 2♥
response on
this hand was
not strictly by the book
♠ 9 5 4
♥ A K Q 10
♦ A 6 4
♣ Q 7 5
Partner Me
1♠ 2♥
3♥ 4♥
End
4♥ made 10 tricks while
4♠ would have made 11.
How would you bid?
J Bardun by email.
A
While you should
normally respond
2♣ with this shape
and values, with such a
chunky 4-card heart suit
you are entitled to exercise
some judgement and treat
it as a 5-card suit. However,
you might have bid 3♠
over 3♥ to offer partner
a choice of games.
♣♦♥♠
Q
My partner
opened 1♦. I had
8 points and four
diamonds. Should the
answer be 2♦ or 1NT,
which is what I bid?
James Harrington by email.
A
It depends upon
your shape. If you
have a 4-card
major, you might well show
that in preference to raising
diamonds. Assuming you
do not have a 4-card major,
it depends upon the rest
of the hand. Usually you
should look to support
partner. However, if you
have a lot of secondary
values in the other suits
and not much in diamonds
then 1NT could be best.
♣♦♥♠
Q
RHO opened 1♠;
I bid 3♦, pre-
inquest, the opponents
said I should have bid
4♦ over a major, as 3♦
shows a very strong
hand over a major.
What do you think?
Joan Kelly,
Golders Green, London.
A
The strength of
a single jump
overcall is a matter
of partnership agreement.
You can play them as weak,
intermediate or strong.
Traditionally, most people
played them as strong.
Since strong jump overcalls
do not come up very
often, many people have
switched to playing them
as weak. With a stronger
hand, it usually works to
start with a simple overcall
and then repeat your suit
or double next time to
show extras. If you play
in a tournament or watch
bridge on BBO, you will find
that almost everyone there
plays weak jump overcalls.
The weaker strength
comes up more often and
enables you to obstruct
the opposing bidding.
What the opponents
thought was irrelevant
(assuming your partner gave
a correct explanation of the
strength of your overcall).
They are entitled to play
strong jump overcalls if they
wish but they cannot stop
you from playing them as
weak.
 Ask Julian continued
Q
Defending
against a slam,
I held the ♠A but
no other high cards.
I led the ♠A but then
switched; my part-
ner, at the time, told
me never to do that
but to carry on the
same suit even though
they were all small.
Is this correct?
Name and address supplied.
A
Whether you
should continue
or switch depends
upon your hand, partner’s
signal and the dummy.
If your partner encourages
(with a high card) it would
be usual to continue the
suit, hoping to find the
king opposite your ace.
If you can tell from
dummy that the best hope
of defeating the contract is
to give your partner a ruff,
again you continue the suit.
♣♦♥♠
Q
Could you tell me
what the correct
response to a
2♣ opening would be as
responder with 12 points,
a balanced hand and no
idea of partner’s shape?
I replied 3NT and, as
it happened, partner
had a balanced hand
and we made 6NT, but
I am not sure what
my initial response
should have been.
Liz Luffingham by email.
A
You are rarely lucky
enough to hold 12
points when partner
E-mail your questions for Julian to:
julianpottage@mrbridge.co.uk
Page 34 BRIDGE December 2013
shows such a strong hand.
One well-known textbook
says that a jump to 3NT
should show an aceless
10-12, so you would be
about right for the values.
Obviously, the bid is
forcing facing 23+ or
game-going values.
♣♦♥♠
Q
If five cards are
missing, the
probability of a
3-2 break is 67.83%.
I have worked out
the following card
combinations:
3-2 break has 20
combinations,
4-1 break has 10
combinations,
5-0 break has 2
combinations.
I thought that the
percentage probability
for a 3-2 break would
be (20/32)x100 but this
gives 62.5% not 67.83%.
Could you explain
where I have
gone wrong?
David Cree by email.
A
You need to take
into account that
players have a finite
number of cards (13). While
the number of combinations
you have given is right,
they are not equally likely.
If one suit breaks 3-2, it
means the other 21 cards
in the opposing hands
are breaking 11-10 and
so on. There are more
ways of having an 11-10
break than there are of
12-9 or 13-8 breaks.
This is why a 3-2 break is a
hotter favourite than your raw
calculations suggest. ■
EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY
Bridge tip from Sally Brock: Use your
honour cards to give a suit preference signal
Y
ou won’t have been West leads the five of dia-
out of the beginners’ monds. Plan the defence.
class for very long be- It looks obvious that
fore you get a lesson on suit you are going to win and
preference signals. When continue diamonds, hoping
partner leads a singleton to promote a trump trick in
to your ace, the card you your partner’s hand. Then,
return should tell partner you need him to switch to
what to play next: a high a spade to give you a ruff.
card for a high-ranking suit, How can you persuade him
a low card for a low-rank- to do this?
ing suit. But sometimes you You are going to win
can’t afford to play a low with one honour, hopefully
card at all. cash another and then
lead another. If you play
ten, jack, queen, you would
Dealer East. E/W Vul. clearly ask for a club; if you
♠ 7 6 4 2 play ace, king, queen, you
♥ A 5 clearly ask for a spade.
♦ 7 6 2 With no preference, you
♣ A Q 10 9 would do something else,
♠ K J 10 9 5 3 ♠ Void perhaps winning the jack
♥ K 7 4 ♥ 6 2 and then playing the ace,
N
♦ 5 W E
♦ A K Q J for example.
10 S 83 Notice that you need
♣ K J 3 ♣ 6 5 4 2 your spade ruff to beat the
♠ A Q 8 contract and partner will
♥ Q J 10 9 8 3 take a lot of persuading to
♦ 9 4 lead one from his king.
♣ 8 7 When your honour
holding is known (or shortly
going to be known), then
West North East South use the order in which you
4♦ 4♥ play your honours to give
All Pass suit preference. ■
Travel tip from Emma Thomson:
H
oliday snaps are a great reminder of the good
times. Only when you get back home and are
showing them to family and friends do you real-
ise the photograph doesn’t quite live up to the real-life
version. To improve your photos, try spending a little
longer setting up the shot. Look around the corners of
the viewfinder to be sure no telegraph wires are cutting
across the frame and or there’s no lamp post sticking
out the top of your loved-one’s head; don’t shoot into
the sun as faces will be covered in shadow; and try
photographing people and scenery from different an-
gles – low, high, even upside down – instead of just at
head height. Relatives will be cooing over your handi-
work in no time.
 The Diaries of Wendy Wensum
A
s a teenager at school, I enjoyed
most team sports, like hockey
and netball, but athletics was
a different matter. In the sixth form,
on compulsory cross-country runs, a
friend and I would soon be trailing the
field and would take a short cut along
a footpath by a stream. We would then
rejoin the official route still behind the
other girls now on their return jour-
ney. On one occasion, we had stopped
to watch a pair of kingfishers, lost our
sense of time and had to hurry back to
school. To our surprise and dismay,
we were the first to finish; we had not
realised the course had been length-
ened that day as a trial for the school
inter-house event. Our performance
gained us the unwanted honour of
selection for our house team. Pro-
tests on the grounds that others were
more deserving were ignored. We ex-
celled ourselves on competition day
by completing the full cross-country
course in the slowest time ever re-
corded in the school’s history, to the
great amusement of classmates and I
suspect the games’ teacher. In bridge,
one can also be too clever.
Jo, Kate, Millie and I entered a
national knock-out teams competition
for the first time. In the qualifying
round, we drew a useful local team
captained by Ann, who we knew
vaguely but had not seen for some
time. As we entered her house for the
contest, I commented quietly to Millie
that Ann appeared to look slightly
different around the face. ‘I’m sure it’s
her new false teeth,’ responded Millie
unkindly and certainly too loudly.
‘I think the dentist fitted the wrong
ones,’ she continued unnecessarily.
Throughout the first twelve boards,
Ann’s parrot, on its perch in the corner
of the room, kept up an incessant
chatter. I couldn’t help wondering
if there was anything in the laws
BRIDGE December 2013 Page 35
Episode 20:
Double Trouble
of bridge regarding this situation.
In particular, does Rule 76 apropos
spectators apply to parrots during
a match played in a private house?
When Jo and Kate joined us to score
up the first half, Millie greeted them
mischievously with, ‘That parrot has
just told us a great joke.’ ‘The parrot?’
queried Jo suspiciously. ‘Well, perhaps
I exaggerated,’ admitted Millie, ‘The
joke wasn’t really that good, but not
bad for a parrot.’ We enjoyed a splendid
tea provided by our opponents and
Jo and Kate had the pleasure of the
parrot’s company for the second half.
Being only a few IMPs down, we knew
we had everything to play for. The
following board proved to be pivotal
to the final result.
Dealer South. N/S Vul.
♠ A K Q J 5
♥ K J 6 3
♦ 8 3
♣ K 6
♠ Void
N
♠ 9 7 6 4 3 2
♥ Q 9 8 7 4 W E ♥ A 2
♦ A K 10 7 6 S ♦ 5 2
♣ 10 9 7 ♣ Q 5 2
♠ 10 8
♥ 10 5
♦ Q J 9 4
♣ A J 8 4 3
West North East South
Jo Kate
Pass We retreated to a local hostelry to
Pass 1♠ Pass 1NT
Pass 3♥ Pass 3NT
All Pass
West led the ♦A and East played the
♦5. West switched to the ♥9, dummy
played low, East ducked and Kate won
with the ♥10. Now the play of the ♦Q
knocked out the ♦K. West exited with
the ♥8, Kate covered in dummy and
East had to win with the ♥A. A club
return gave Kate the rest of the tricks
for a score of +630. Could anything
go wrong now? Oh, yes. At our table,
South passed and Millie with two five-
card red suits and rule of 19 opened
one heart. The complete disastrous
sequence was:
West North East South
Millie Ann Wendy
Pass
1♥ 1♠ Pass 2♣
2♦ 3♠ Dbl All Pass
With six trumps in my hand and an
ace, I doubled, expecting to defeat the
contract. What a mistake. I led the
♦5 and Ann, as declarer, played the
♦J. Millie won with the ♦K, won the
second trick with the ♦A and returned
the ♦6. I ruffed then took the ♥A, but
three spades doubled came home for
-730. It would have been a part score
of -140 had I been more conservative.
Kate’s excellent 3NT contract had been
cancelled out by my over-exuberance.
That unnecessary double cost us
dearly, a difference of -100 for -3 IMPs
instead of +490 for +10 IMPs. As a
result, we lost a match we could have
won by 4 IMPs. In bridge, like cross-
country, it does not pay to be too clever.
As we congratulated our opponents on
their victory, Ann responded silently
with a gleefully exaggerated broad and
toothy grin.
lick our wounds and soothe Millie’s
troubled nerves. It was then that Millie
noticed the new lucky charm on my
bracelet. ‘I think you should ask for
a refund,’ she observed drily. It did
not seem to be the moment to suggest
that Millie’s minimum opener might
have been a contributing factor in the
debacle. ■
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13/0278
 Catching Up
Sally was a member of the British Ladies’ Team that qualified for the World Championships in Bali.
A
fter our disappointing NICKO
match, we went back to High
Wycombe and out to dinner
with friends on the Saturday evening.
Then, at 3.40am, Ed picked Barry up
to go to Stansted for his trip to Pula –
to play in a tournament with Bernard
Teltscher.
Things were a bit hectic after that,
culminating in flying off to Bali on the
Friday. I was pleased that Nicola had
had the foresight to book a taxi to take
us to our hotel, because leaving Bali
airport is bedlam. You come out of the
main entrance and there are throngs
of people, some of whom are holding
placards with names on while the ma-
jority are just waving wildly. Luckily,
we found our driver quite quickly and
were soon settled into our hotel.
The next day, we relaxed and read
the system. Simon, who with David
Gold had been here for a few days in
order to have a bit of a holiday and
acclimatisation, met us for lunch. In
the evening, we went with them to a
wonderful restaurant on the beach
at Jimbaran. We sat on the sand on
folding chairs with the sea a mere
ten feet away. We chose our own fish
which was cooked freshly for us and
for a starter there was a stall on the
beach selling corn on the cob. Later
on, there were fireworks. In different
company, it would have been very
romantic. Later on that evening, the
rest of the team arrived and we all had
a drink before retiring to bed.
The following day was the only real
opportunity we would have to venture
further afield. So, for about £30, we
hired a car and a driver for the day. He
took us to see a couple of temples: first,
the beautiful Tanah Lot, perched on
BRIDGE December 2013 Page 37
by Sally Brock
a promontory, and second to Taman
Ayun, a huge royal water temple.
Then we went to the shopping capital
of the island, Ubud, and wandered
around the market for a while, before
returning to our hotel. In the evening,
we went back to the same restaurant
on the beach. It was just too good an
experience not to share.
The next day was spent mostly
relaxing until the evening when there
was an opening ceremony. I am sure
that there are very good reasons for all
the speeches and performances that go
on at these affairs but it is purgatory
for bridge players.
Here we are, within spitting distance
of all our friends from far-flung places
whom we don’t see often enough
and, instead of being able to talk
to them, we have to sit through not
only speeches, but also exhibitions of
Balinese dancing and music. However
brilliant these may be, it is not what
the players want and they put up with
it with varying degrees of politeness.
While I was settling into Bali,
Briony was settling into her rooms
at university. It was a pity I couldn’t
be with her for this important rite of
passage, but we Skyped a lot and she
seemed to settle in well. All I could do
for her birthday was arrange a gluten
and dairy free birthday cake to be
delivered and then Skype even more.
Then the bridge started. There were
22 teams in each event. The format
was a complete round robin of three
16-board matches a day, with the top
eight to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Then it was knock-out (96 boards
played over two days) until there was
only one team left standing.
An ongoing saga, which will
continue over the next few days, is
that of the air-conditioning in my
room. One day, after we had been here
roughly a week, I was woken in the
middle of night by a steady drip-drip-
drip in my room. There were drops of
condensation dripping onto the floor.
I eventually resorted to stuffing bits of
toilet paper in my ears to get back to
sleep despite the dripping.
Although the hotel fixed this tempo-
rarily, the problem arose every couple
of days. And several times I was woken
in the night by the heat in my room as
I lost my power supply and therefore
my air conditioning. Much of the time
I was in my room, it was in the com-
pany of three hotel employees, one
standing on a step ladder, one in the
roof above the ladder and one holding
the ladder. At one stage, they seemed
to have plugged the leak, but the wa-
ter just dripped a bit further along,
this time drenching all my hanging
clothes in water. The team had trouble
containing their eagerness to hear the
next instalment each day at breakfast.
In the round robin, we were generally
lying somewhere between fourth and
eighth, not really in any serious danger
of not qualifying, but clearly needing
an improvement in performance if we
were going to do really well. Nicola
and I were generally played against
weaker teams but even so I didn’t
feel we played particularly well in
the round robin. And our opponents
seemed to bid a huge number of slams
against us which were not generally
bid either by our other pair, or by the
rest of the field.
On this deal, from our match against
USA2, it was our turn to be aggressive
in the slam zone:

Better Hand
Evaluation
Bernard Magee
Introduction
Better Hand Evaluation is
aimed at helping readers to
add greater accuracy to their
bidding. It deals with auctions
in which you and your partner,
against silent opponents, can
describe your hands fully to
each other and, by evaluating
them accurately, find the best
final contract. The emphasis of
all good, accurate bidding is on
hand evaluation.
There are two general types of
auction: a) a fit is found and b)
no fit is found.
When you do not have a fit,
you are aiming to describe the
strength of your hand as soon
as possible, most often using
no-trump bids. This book be-
gins by discussing balanced
hand bidding in Acol, as it
is very important that both
members of a partnership
have an accurate knowledge of
how to show hands of different
strengths.
When a fit is found, there is
much re-evaluation of the
hand to be done; point count,
though still important, needs
to be evaluated together with
distribution. The best way of
reaching an accurate assess­
ment is to use the Losing Trick
Count; this is an important
method of hand evaluation and
takes up a number of chapters.
Finally, we move on to different
forms of evaluation including
game tries and splinter bids.
You can never know enough
methods of hand evaluation;
the more you learn, the better
you get at judging your hand.
Although the Losing Trick
Count is used more easily in
tandem with your partner, a
large proportion of the ideas
in this book can be used by an
individual. For example, eval-
uating your hand to be worth
an extra point is going to help
anyone you partner – as long
as you get it right.
£14 including postage
See Mail Order Form
on page 7.
Page 38 BRIDGE December 2013
Catching Up continued
Dealer East. Love All.
♠ A 10 7 6 4
♥ Q J 8 6 5
♦ A 9 7
♣ Void
♠ Q 2 N
♥ 7 S
W E
♠ K J 8 5 3
♥ 9 2
♦ Q 10 5 4 3 ♦ J 6
♣ A 10 9 7 6 ♣ J 8 4 3
♠ 9
♥ A K 10 4 3
♦ K 8 2
♣ K Q 5 2
West North East South
Pass 1♥
Pass 2NT Pass 3♣
Pass 3♦ Pass 3♠
Pass 5♣ Pass 5♠
Pass 5NT Pass 6♦
Pass 7♥ All Pass
The bidding needs a bit
of explanation. 2NT was
game-forcing, agreeing
hearts. 3♣ was natural, 3♦
a relay and 3♠ showed extra
values (about 14+ HCP)
with a singleton spade. 5♣
was Exclusion Blackwood
and 5♠ showed two ‘aces’
outside of clubs. 5NT asked
for my lowest useful king
and 6♦ showed the ♦K.
Nicola worked out that I
would probably be able to
establish her fifth spade for
a diamond discard. What
she forgot was that then
I wouldn’t have a trump
left to ruff her third-round
diamond loser.
So, there I was in a grand
slam that seemed to depend
on the location of the ♣A.
At least that would have
been all it depended on had
I not misplayed it. West led
the ♥7 and I forgot to play
the ♥8 from dummy. I won
in hand, played a spade to
the ace and ruffed a spade.
When West’s ♠Q appeared,
I realised I might now be in West could not overruff and
trouble if West had the ♥9.
I played the ♣K and ran it
the grand slam was home.
Going into the final day
discarding a diamond, then of the round robin, we were
ruffed a club and ruffed an- lying fifth, 17 VPs ahead of
other spade. Luckily for me, ninth place… ■
Sally’s Dramatis
Personae
Sally Brock lives in High Wycombe with her two teenagers, her
husband Raymond having died in early 2008. She works partly as
a bridge professional, occasionally playing for pay but more often
writing (she is the bridge columnist for The Sunday Times) and
teaching online; the rest of the time she works on the production
of travel guides – hence the occasional reference to rather
obscure countries. She has been a member of the British/English
women’s team on and off since 1979.
Briony & Toby are Sally’s 18-year-old daughter and 19-year-old
son.
Barry Myers is Sally’s new partner, both at and away from the
bridge table. He is a criminal defence barrister and lives in
Shepherd’s Bush.
Nicola Smith is Sally’s current international bridge partner. They
formed a last-minute partnership in 2008 to join the England
women’s team for the World Mind Sports Games in Beijing where
they won the gold medal. Nicola has been playing international
bridge since she was 17, which is rather a long time ago.
Nevena Senior is slim, elegant and feisty, and bridge partner
of Heather, was born and raised in Bulgaria, but now lives
in Nottingham with husband Brian. She is a full-time bridge
professional.
Heather Dhondy is youthful and athletic, a professional bridge
player, teacher and writer, and lives in Dorset with husband
Jeremy. She played with Nicola until 2007 but now plays with
Nevena. Jeremy Dhondy is the captain of the women’s team at
the moment.
Susan Stockdale first played for England when she was 14. Big,
blonde and gorgeous, Susan works as director of a company
that markets and distributes products to the veterinary and
animal healthcare sectors. Her partner is . . .
Fiona Brown, a small redhead who is always smiling, comes
from Australia, but now lives in Harrogate with her boyfriend,
Irish international Hugh McGann. Last year she finished her IT
degree and at the moment works part-time in a pharmacy –
which leaves her plenty of time to concentrate on her bridge.
David Burn is coach of the English women’s team. One of the
wittiest writers and commentators in the game.
Simon Cope is a friend, team-mate and sometime bridge coach.
He was captain of the English open team in Bali.
Richard and Gerry are two of Sally’s regular online clients. Richard
lives in North London and Gerry lives in Toronto. Every week Sally
plays against them for a couple of hours, stopping to discuss
problems that arise – sometimes with Barry if he is not working,
and sometimes with herself (when she is almost flawless).
 David Stevenson answers your Frequently Asked Questions
Arrow-Switches
A
n arrow-switch is when the
boards are rotated ninety
degrees so that pairs switch
orientation for a round.
Many players distrust arrow-switches
for a variety of reasons. Some players
believe they have an evening when
they do not get the cards – and when
it comes to the arrow-switch round or
rounds, they still do not get the cards.
There are two answers to this. First,
players’ perception of whether they
hold the cards or not is notoriously
wrong and this bias really happens
incredibly rarely. Also, it does not
matter anyway since it does not affect
your chance of success. On every board
you play, your score is compared with
other people holding the same cards,
good or bad, with lucky or unlucky
breaks – it is the same for all of you.
Some think that declarer has an
advantage and arrow-switches affect
the number of times a side gets to be
declarer. However, you can get a good
score as a defender by stopping declar-
er making a tenth trick in no-trumps
by a judicious lead, or by careful dis-
carding. You can set up your defence
during the bidding by lead-directing
bids. Counting hands is very impor-
tant, especially when defending, and
good signalling between defenders is
most important. My guess is that more
matchpoints are lost by sloppy defend-
ing than by poor declarer play.
Such players seem to ignore the bid-
ding and feel it is pre-ordained that
one side will play the hand. A lot of
matchpoint bidding revolves around
contesting part scores and judging
whether to bid one more and play the
hand or defend. There are also sacri-
fices and pre-emptive bids to try and
deflect the other side from their best
contract, so many hands might be
played by either side. In many ways,
good players look forward to weaker
hands and less experienced players
would perhaps enjoy the game more if
they realised the scope offered to them
by poor hands and if they bid more ag-
BRIDGE December 2013 Page 39
gressively on them.
Another belief depends on the fact
that, with arrow-switches, a pair will
play a different set of hands from an-
other pair: is that fair? Perhaps not in
one way of looking at it: a pure dupli-
cate session is probably one in which
each N/S pair plays the same boards as
each other and finishes with two lists,
one for E/W, one for N/S. Many clubs
do, in fact, try to follow this approach,
with two winning pairs on the night,
though, with some numbers of tables,
they do not play everyone or every
board. The problem with that ap-
proach comes in events where a single
winner is required. Also, many clubs
want a single winner or single list, for
example, if one free play is handed
out per evening, or if the scores go
through to a further competition.
Consider an ordinary Mitchell with
15 tables, playing 13 rounds with no
arrow-switch. On no board do you
compete with every other pair sitting
your way, merely with 12 other pairs –
but not the same 12 other pairs. How-
ever, you compete directly with each
pair only on each board that both of
you play. The same applies in an ar-
row-switch: you do not compete with
every other pair on every board, but
comparisons are worked out between
you and each other pair that played the
same hands as you on the same board.
What about the suggestion of calling
the winner the pair with the higher
percentage between the N/S and E/W
winners, a common approach in the
USA? That is completely illegal and
faintly ridiculous: you might just as
well call the winner the pair with the
higher percentage between this week
and four weeks ago. The point is that
they have not played the same hands
as each other, so the scores cannot
be compared. In a fair competition,
you compete against every other pair
on some of the boards, which cannot
happen with the American approach.
So how does an arrow-switch work?
What happens is that, on each board
a pair plays, they compare their score
with other pairs all playing the same
way with the same cards. That is what
makes an arrow-switch fair, similar to
a Howell movement which works on
the same principle. If you get a top,
you have out-scored other pairs play-
ing with the same cards, if you get a
bottom, they have out-scored you, but
still with the same cards. So if you feel
it is a hand where your side should be
declarer, then that is true for every
other pair with whom you compare
your score on that board. If you get
bad hands, then you are comparing
your score with other players who got
the same bad hands.
I think the greatest problem with
arrow-switches is that players think
only of the three or four boards at the
end of the session when the boards are
switched. In fact, there are some ar-
row-switches on every board you play.
Suppose you are a moving pair. Most
of the time you play E/W and you com-
pare your score with other E/W pairs.
Now, you think of them as other mov-
ing pairs, but, on every board, there
will be some stationary pairs, the ones
who play it at the end of the evening.
Every single board is affected by the
arrow-switch, not just the last three or
four, but, on every board, your score
is compared only with people playing
with your cards – and that is fair.
The other complaint about arrow-
switches is that people do not under-
stand why it should be one-eighth of
the boards. That is quite difficult to
explain, being based on an abstruse
mathematical argument and a future
article will look at this. For those peo-
ple who think instinctively it should
be half the boards, mathematicians
have proved that it is not correct to
arrow-switch half the boards. Remem-
ber you are comparing with people in
the other direction on every board.
Strangely, many people who do not
trust arrow-switches are perfectly
happy with Howell movements, which
work in the same way. ■
READERS’ visitors from Bridport which
should, at least, get over
the problem of distance.
Jeremy Dhondy,
the gremlins somehow
breached our security.

PLEASE EXPLAIN

LETTERS
Chairman. It has always been my
English Bridge Union. understanding that a double
of an opening first round
QUIZ ANSWER bid of 1NT is for penalty.
I and a few bridge buddies Recently, I have
played the Chatsworth Hotel encountered such a double
TD Training BOGOFF and may attend further days Quiz hand last month and it for take-out. How can I know
I was surprised at on such topics as ‘book occasioned some interesting that it isn’t for penalty?
Mr Tarsnane’s comments rulings’. An assessment and discussions as to the correct Niranjan Doshi by email.
in BRIDGE 131. He alleges certificate can be gained if way to bid and play. This is another FAQ. Julian
that EBU courses for training all parts of the course are I see the prize has been Pottage will write about it
tournament directors are completed to the required awarded in your November and that really is a promise.
too long, too expensive standard, but this is optional. edition of BRIDGE, but
and too far away. The club A director who has had no definitive answer as WELL DONE
directors’ Essential Course a modicum of training can to the correct bid. POST OFFICE
is held at venues all over the make the evening more Could you please put us On Friday 18 October,
country, it lasts for one day enjoyable for all the players out of our misery . . . I phoned and ordered a
and, for all affiliated clubs, when the movement works what is the answer? 2-year subscription for
if they send one director they without fault, the scoring is Thanking you in BRIDGE. I’d had it for years
qualify to take a second for prompt and anytime there anticipation. and years and missed it for a
nothing, so the total cost for is an incident at the table Mr John Lees by email. few months. When I phoned,
the course for two directors the director deals with it See my column on page 5. I seemed to have missed
is £38. BOGOF at its best. calmly and authoritatively. the info about subscription,
If the booking comes from In most games training REPLAY REQUEST so I paid by phone. Next
an EBU member and not via is offered to organisers, At my local bridge club, day came the receipt and
the club then the discount umpires and referees. It playing rubber bridge one the November magazine.
does not apply but the makes for a better game. night, I mentioned the Mrs Maureen Burke
attendee is still welcome. In both the affiliated ‘Murder Hand’. Everyone by email.
These courses are both clubs I attend in his county, was intrigued but I cannot
popular and frequently full. the game is run by trained find my copy of the story nor NOT SERIOUS
We’d be delighted to see volunteers and makes the actual hand. Would you I was most amused that
either of the clubs he attends the evening all the more please publish the tale and Sally Brock thought herself
in Bridport join the EBU and smooth and enjoyable. One its hand in your next issue. a complete idiot for
the local county and take of those clubs (Allendale) Mrs B Clarke, Newbury. missing a triple squeeze.
advantage of the offer above. is about to hold an EBU If not in the coming issue, Most of us would be
More training is available for course and would be then in the one after. over the moon even to
those who wish to go further delighted to welcome spot such a play double
WELL PICKED UP dummy. However, I suppose
Bernard Magee’s bidding at Sally’s level, missing a
REDUCE THE COST quiz is my favourite spot in
the magazine. I have one
triple squeeze is like me
miscounting trumps.
OF YOUR POSTAGE question and one comment
to make about the current
She says she briefly
thought about giving up the
Postage stamps for sale at 90% of face-value, issue (BRIDGE 130). game. Was she serious? Sally
all mint with full gum. Quotations for Deal 5. Bernard says giving up bridge would be
commercial quantities available on request. game on 18 HCP might like the Prime Minister giving
Values supplied in 100s, higher values seem ambitious – I see up politics – it’s in the blood.
available as well as 1st and 2nd class 22 HCP. Perhaps this is a However, we have all been
deliberate mistake to see if there, if a game can’t destroy
(eg 2nd class: 100x37p+100x13p)
we are paying attention. you occasionally it’s not
Mrs J Windle, worth playing. It’s good to
(/Fax 020 8422 4906
Truro, Cornwall. know that Sally, genius as she
e-mail: Well spotted. Bernard is, is just one of us at heart.
clive.goff@londonrugby.com Magee’s correct answer, Ian Dalziel
22 HCP, was input but Troon, Ayrshire.

Page 40 BRIDGE December 2013

READERS’ LETTERS
continued
JUST NOT ON
I found David Stevenson’s
recent article on Pass-Outs
interesting.
During a recent afternoon
duplicate session my partner
and I experienced two
passed out hands. As we
are fairly quick players it set
my mind wondering if there
could be a way of playing
these hands, but without
scoring them. As a result I
came up with this idea and
I am wondering whether
it would be allowed:
1 Because no player had
an opening bid it is
probable that all four
hands had between 9
and 11 points. The dealer
then has to make a bid.
2 The dealer has to bid a 5
card suit if they have one.
3 If the dealer has not got a
5 card suit they either bid
1 of a suit or one no trump
depending on distribution.
4 Either no further bids are
allowed or each player
in turn is allowed one
bid – penalty doubles
are not allowed.
5 Play then proceeds along
normal playing rules
but it is obviously not
scored on the traveller.
We feel that this would
be a bit of fun and it avoids
sitting around waiting to
move to the next table.
Mr Brian Berlanny,
Portsmouth, Hants.
Don’t even go there.
MY CHOICE
Following receipt of BRIDGE
131, the November issue,
please find my cheque for
£20 as subscription for
this coming year. I much
prefer a hard copy.
Robin Bridger,
Romsey, Hants.
BRIDGE December 2013 Page 41
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Once again I write to say how
much we enjoy your holidays
and enclose a few verses
(below). This time – with won-
derful weather, a happy ship
(our first time on Voyager)
and exciting bridge organ-
ised by Bernard Magee and
his ‘crew’. He has the gift of
being able to empathise with
us all – old & young – good
or bad at bridge. No wonder
he has such a fan club.
Mrs Anne Briscoe,
Windsor, Berks.
Tempting you with Bernard in
the coming July and August.
HARDLY TENNYSON
September is a
good month
To join Bernard on a cruise
To leave behind the
household chores
And all the dreadful news.
We read the brochure
every night
To blow away the blues
And dreamt of gourmet
food to eat
Accompanied by booze.
We packed a suitcase
– full to brim
With t-shirts, pants
and trews
And left perhaps
a little room
For just one pair of shoes.
September is a
happy month
To join Bernard on a cruise
To dream of making
slams each night
To blow away the blues.
And so our thanks
to Mr Bridge
We thought it was a ruse
When through the post
his mag arrived
To tempt us with
this cruise.
THANK YOU
A fantastic boxed set of six
bridge DVDs. My husband
and I have already dipped
into them to refresh
ourselves of Bernard
Magee’s teaching and his
recommended systems.
I must say that I
would recommend them
to any bridge player
wishing to improve.
Pat and Peter Roberts,
Downham Market,
Norfolk.
From italy
Would you please pass
on our thanks to Bernard.
We attended his recent
weekend at Blunsdon House
Hotel where he introduced
us to Italian cue bids.
Once again, we had a
lovely weekend. Bernard
explained the topic very
clearly and with his usual
humour. Our thanks also
to his team of helpers who
were all very friendly.
Lesley and Richard Budgen,
Kidlington, Oxon.
MIS-READ
Dear oh dear – someone
has slipped up, letting Sally
Brock’s tip past the editor’s
scrutiny, BRIDGE 131 p33.
Surely Sally does not
mean that, ‘she plays
against many over-aged
club players.’ Since when
has bridge been ageist?
My local club, like most
others, has it’s fair share of
elderly players. As long as
they are willing and capa-
ble of arriving at the bridge
club they are welcome.
Nobody will ever be turned
away because we feel that
they are ‘over-aged’.
Yours, rather shocked.
Andrew Mountain
Wrexham.
Go to Specsavers, then have
another look at the printed
word on page 33.
CHARITY
EVENTS
JANUARY 2014
20 North West Cancer
Research. Circle of friends
rubber bridge drive and tea.
Loreto Centre, Abbey Road,
Llandudno. 2pm. Prizes for
winners and raffle prizes. £5.
Bill Carter
( 01492 868589
FEBRUARY 2014
27 HUDDERSFIELD PENNINE
ROTARY CLUB
Bridge Lunch with tea and
biscuits £48 per table.
12.00 for 12.30. Outlane
Golf Club, Huddersfield.
Rtn Sam Smith
( 01924 492540
samuelsmith396
@btinternet.com
MARCH 2014
11 ST NEOTS’ BOWLING CLUB
St Neots, Cambs.
10.00 for 10.30am. £14.00.
John Shaw
( 01480 475454
12 WIMBORNE ROTARY CLUB
Allendale Community Centre,
Wimborne, Dorset. 2p.m.
£28 per table, including tea
and good prizes.
Don Phillips 01202 972211
APRIL 2014
4 Conservative Association
Gt Stukeley Village Hall.
Tickets £13.50.
Sheila Stephenson
( 01480 457338
Kay Brownlow
( 01480 880663
25 CHILDREN’S CHARITIES
Doddington Village Hall,
March. 10.00 for 10.30am.
Tickets £14.00.
Val Topliss
( 01354 653696
MAY 2014
15 HUDDERSFIELD PENNINE
ROTARY CLUB
Bridge Lunch with tea and
biscuits £48 per table.
12.00 for 12.30. Outlane
Golf Club, Huddersfield.
Rtn Sam Smith
( 01924 492540
samuelsmith396
@btinternet.com
E-mail your charity events:
maggie@mrbridge.co.uk
 READERS’ LETTERS
continued
HARKING BACK
Back in 1961, I was playing
for the Martins Bank Bridge
team with aggregate scoring
– ie there was no conversion
to international match
points or victory points. The
importance of slam hands
was thus tremendous and
the very occasional grand
slam hand more so.
Think of me, sitting South
with this power-house and
hearing my partner opening
the bidding 1S: if ever I was
going to bid and make a
grand slam surely this must
be the time. Having checked
through Blackwood that
all Aces and Kings were
held, I reasonably bid 7NT.
Dummy was to be something
of a disappointment.
♠ Q 10 9 2
♥ A Q
♦ J 8 6 3
♣ K 7 5
♠ 8 4 N ♠ J 7 6 5 3
W E
♥ J 5 4 3 S ♥ 10 8 7
♦ 10 9 7 5 2 ♦ Void
♣ 10 4 ♣ Q J 8 3 2
♠ A K
♥ K 9 6 2
♦ A K Q 4
♣ A 9 6
I should explain that in those
days we were not playing
1NT weak all through, we
played weak no trump non-
vulnerable and strong no
trump vulnerable. On this
board, North had dealt at
Game All so that 1NT had
not been available to him.
Let’s now look at all four
hands – not a luxury avail-
able to me at the time.
By the time I saw dummy,
West had made his open-
ing lead and (perhaps on
the basis of leading through
Page 42 BRIDGE December 2013
strength) had put down ♠8.
Thankfully, I called for ♠9
even though it could not take
the trick. It would have taken
a true expert in East’s seat
to withhold ♠J and when this
appeared, 13 tricks were a
lay down. Without the spade
lead, my call for the ♠9 and
East’s play of ♠J my contract
would have been doomed.
Yes, the odds had been
against 7NT succeeding but
at least it had a chance. The
better contract of 7♦ would
be bound to fail on the
terrible trump break I think.
There were eight on
a team, four tables and
despite my triumph (all right,
lucky triumph) we lost the
match by 570 points. At
least my partner and I had
a vulnerable grand slam to
brag about. The modern day
Weak 1NT would simply have
been raised to 6NT and there
would be no story to tell.
Mr Raymond Prior,
Stockport.
IT KEEPS ME GOING
Thank you for the super
magazine and for sending
me the itineraries of the
various voyages. I wish
I could go but age has
caught up with me. I do,
however, play every day.
Mrs Vera Sand,
Stanmore, Middlesex.
TELL ME WHY
Could you ask one of your
experts to explain why some
favour the strong no-trump.
Mrs Rowntree,
Mundesley, Norfolk.
Look in the February issue. ■
Write to Mr Bridge at:
Ryden Grange,
Knaphill,
Surrey,
GU21 2TH
or e-mail
letters@mrbridge.co.uk
Letters may be edited
for length and clarity.
 Seven Days by Sally Brock
Monday
Nicola and I are sitting out the first
match and the others have to play
against Pakistan, lying in 20th
position. Uncharacteristically, they
don’t have a great time of it and we
only win narrowly. That sends us back
into sixth place, but we are still 17
VPs ahead of ninth. But in ninth place
are Japan and that is our next match,
so if we lose heavily, our chances of
qualifying would be severely reduced.
We do lose but still score 7.71 VPs.
To digress a little, for years there
has been a fairly normal victory point
scale. In the old days it was a 20-point
scale but if you did very badly it
was possible to score negative VPs,
the worst case being –5. The minus
number apparently caused all sorts of
technical problems, so they changed to
a 25-point scale, whereby a normal win
would be 25-5, but the losers could go
down as far as 0. The problem with this
type of scale, where a range of IMPs
is covered by a single victory point, is
that it is possible to be at the wrong
end of the range. Why should it be
that losing by 8 IMPs, say, is the same
as losing by 11? To rectify this they
have produced a new scale, but it runs
to two decimal places, and appears
much more complicated. Anyway, that
explains our rather curious 7.71.
But losing at all has narrowed the
gap. We are now in eighth place, 12
VPs ahead of Japan. So, provided
we score 12 more than they do we
are guaranteed to qualify. But we
are playing the mighty France while
they are playing Indonesia who are
midway in the table. In addition, we
are only 4 VPs behind France, so if
we can beat them heavily and Japan
win heavily, it is possible that France
might not qualify. We discuss with the
French the possibility (only joking)
of agreeing to a draw and going for a
drink. In the event we lose narrowly to
France and the Japanese only manage
a narrow win, so we qualify in eighth
place.
The reward for topping the table in
BRIDGE December 2013 Page 43
the round robin is to choose quarter-
final opponents from the teams
finishing in 5th–8th place. Apart from
personal opinion about the strength
of the other teams, there is a carry-
forward from the round robin. A
percentage of the score in the round
robin match is continued to the knock-
out, so the result of that individual
match is a consideration when
choosing opposition. Anyway, the
Dutch choose Turkey, USA1 choose
us, Poland choose USA2, which leaves
China to play France.
As well as the women’s event
(Venice Cup), there is the open event
(Bermuda Bowl) and seniors (d’Orsi
Trophy). We have British interest in
both those competitions. Our open
team has surpassed itself and qualified
in sixth place. They had a bit of drama
mid-week when Simon, their captain,
developed a severe infection in a
wound in his leg and eventually flew
home to get expert medical advice.
Thankfully, he is now fine, though
taking a while to heal. Their reward
for qualifying is a quarter-final match
against Monaco, which is a first-rate
professional team sponsored by Pierre
Zimmerman. In the seniors event,
Scotland have qualified. After a flying
start where they were in the top few
for a while, they dropped off a bit but
finally qualified in seventh place. Their
quarter-final opponents are USA2.
Tuesday
USA1 have two of the strongest pairs
in the world and, if the competition
was for teams of four, would probably
be clear favourites. However, they are
all professional players and have a
sponsor on their team who is not so
strong. In order to receive the title of
world champion, all players on a team
have to play a third of the boards and
the normal practice for professional
teams is to play the sponsor for the
minimum number of boards as early
as possible. Nicola and I play the first
set against the American sponsor and
we have a great time, at the end of
which we have a 43 IMP lead.
Nicola chooses a good moment for
an unorthodox action on this deal.
One of the problems playing a strong
no-trump is when you have 15 or 16
points and a 5431 distribution where
your longest suit is lower-ranking than
the four-card suit. If you open your
five-card suit and partner bids your
singleton as expected, what do you
bid next? You don’t want to bid 1NT
because that shows 12-14, you don’t
want to reverse because that shows
a better hand and to make a simple
rebid in your suit is inadequate too.
One solution is to open 1NT despite
holding a singleton, and that is what
Nicola does here.
Dealer South. Game All.
♠ J
♥ 7 5 4 3
♦ 10 9 8 6 3
♣ 9 6 3
♠ K Q 8 5 3 ♠ 7 6 4 2
N
♥ J 10 9 6 W E ♥ A K 8 2
♦ K 2 S ♦ 7 5
♣ 8 7 ♣ A K 5
♠ A 10 9
♥ Q
♦ A Q J 4
♣ Q J 10 4 2
At the other table, our pair bids the
laydown 4♠, but, in our room, Nicola
chooses to open 1NT as South. West
does not have enough to bid in direct
seat and East feels she is too balanced
to bid in the pass-out seat. Nicola goes
two down in 1NT for a 10 IMP gain
when compared with the 650 in the
other room.
We continue in the second set and
gain another 12. That is a big deficit for
their star pairs to retrieve. Nicola and
I retire for the day to let the others do
what they can and they do brilliantly
against the professionals, putting on
another 29 IMPs to leave us with a lead
of 84 IMPs at the end of the first day.
This sounds a lot but Heather,
Nevena, Nicola and I are mindful of
 Seven Days continued
the World Mindsports Final in Beijing
in 2008 when we were also 84 IMPs
ahead with one day’s play to go. We
won by a single IMP.
In the other matches, the leaders are
Netherlands, USA2 and China.
Wednesday
Our lead remains comfortable. We
dribble out a few IMPs (19 in all) to
emerge comfortable winners. The
Netherlands and USA2 win comfort-
ably too, but France v China is very
exciting, with China eventually win-
ning by 12.
Unfortunately, British interest is now
confined to our team as both the Eng-
land open team and Scottish senior
teams are comprehensively trounced.
After dinner, I manage a teaching
session against Richard and Gerry.
Barry is working so I inveigle David
Burn to play with me against them
which is good fun. It really makes the
world seem a small place when I am
in Bali, say, and playing online with
Richard in London and Gerry in To-
ronto.
Thursday
Our semi-final match is against Chi-
na, while the Dutch play USA2. Our
pattern of Nicola and I playing the first
two sets, Susan and Fiona playing one
and three, while Heather and Nevena
play the last two, seems to be work-
ing well. As the oldies on the team,
we have a greater tendency to tire, so
finishing play early suits us well. Also,
it means that when I am sitting out,
Barry is awake in England and I can
watch on my laptop and talk to him on
Skype at the same time.
China is perhaps not the force it was
a few years ago, but is still a team to
be taken very seriously. There is a lot
of money in bridge in China (perhaps
the only country where that can really
be said) and they spend a lot of time
working hard at their game. Neverthe-
less, we start off well, with a 20 IMP
lead. In the round robin, Nicola and I
were particularly impressed by a new
Page 44 BRIDGE December 2013
pair, Yan Liu and Ru Yan. They did
rather well against us and not surpris-
ingly, in the second set, as soon as it is
their choice, they opt to play against us
in this match. We have rather a miser-
able time of it, but luckily our team-
mates play well and we lose only a sin-
gle IMP. Still, I’m pleased that when
we play our two sets tomorrow, we will
have choice of opponents.
In the third set, the others put on
another 17. And then we meet for
dinner. A Balinese speciality is roast
suckling pig, but at our favourite lo-
cal restaurant you have to order it
24 hours in advance. We did this on
Tuesday and now it is time to experi-
ence this treat. It looks spectacular: a
roast baby piglet appears and we all
take photos. The meat is delicious,
but it is all a bit carnivorous for me.
There is a huge amount of meat. I don’t
think we eat half even and, apart from
a few chips and a free salad bar, there
isn’t much to go with it. Anyway, we
all stuff ourselves and they package up
the rest for us to take back to our hotel.
It does me sandwiches (the food at the
convention centre is not very good so
Nicola and I are in the habit of mak-
ing ourselves a sandwich at breakfast
to take with us) for a couple of days,
but the fridge in our room is not very
cold and after that I think it’s probably
better not to risk it.
Friday
We make small but steady gains in
every set to run out comfortable win-
ners, the eventual margin being 72.5
IMPs. This was a cheerful moment in
the fifth set.
Dealer West. Game All.
♠ A 4
♥ 10 4 2
♦ A 6 5 2
♣ A Q 6 4
♠ 9 8 ♠ K J 7 3
N
♥ A 8 6 3
W E
♥ K 9 5
♦ J 10 8 7 4 3 S ♦ K Q
♣ 7 ♣ K 9 8 5
♠ Q 10 6 5 2
♥ Q J 7
♦ 9
♣ J 10 3 2
West North East South
Pass 1♣ 1NT 2♠
Dbl All Pass
Nicola’s 1♣ opening is what we do on
all weak balanced hands and East’s
1NT is normal. After a 1♣ opening,
we treat a 1NT overcall like a 1NT
opening, so my 2♠ overcall shows
five spades and a four-card or longer
minor. West’s double is for take-out
according to West, or showing general
cards according to East, and there I
am.
West leads her singleton and I win
with the ace to play the ♠A and another
spade. East wins the king and switches
to a diamond. I win the ace and play
clubs. East wins eventually and plays
a heart. West wins the ♥A and plays
another diamond. This allows me to
ruff, cash my remaining club and lead
my second highest heart from hand.
East cannot prevent my making a
heart trick and both my remaining
spades for a doubled overtrick.
The other semi-final is much more
exciting. At the beginning of the day
USA2 are 12 IMPs ahead, the next set
is flat and then the Dutch pull 5 back.
Watching the final set on my laptop,
with four boards to go it looks as if
the Dutch have done it as they have a
14 IMP lead, but then disaster strikes:
first they bid a game and redouble
when it is doubled (one down), then
they bid a slam on a finesse which is
doubled (one down), and then have
a carding mix-up to let through a
vulnerable game.
When the smoke has cleared, USA2
win by 16.
Saturday
The final starts slowly, unlike the
Bermuda Bowl where Italy establish a
67 IMP lead over Monaco.
We lose 16 on the first set, and then
gain 25 on the second.
That set is trundling along with
honours fairly even, until the last
board.
West North East South
1♠
Pass 1NT Dbl 2♥
Pass 3♥ Dbl All Pass
 Seven Days continued
Dealer South. N/S Vul.
♠ 9 8
♥ K Q 9 8 5
♦ J 10 8 3
♣ 7 6
♠ J 10 6 5 ♠ A 7
♥ J 2 W E N
♥ 3
♦ Q 5 4 2 S ♦ A K 9 7 6
♣ Q 8 3
♣ A K J 4 2
♠ K Q 4 3 2
♥ A 10 7 6 4
♦ Void
♣ 10 9 5
I think the standard
strength of opening bids
must be higher in the US
than in the UK, because I
think most British players
would open Nicola’s South
hand. East intends her first
double to show strength and
her second double to be for
take-out. West thinks the
first double is take-out of
spades, therefore showing
some hearts, and thinks
that the second double is
simply card-showing.
As the cards lie, Nicola
has no problem in making
ten tricks for a score of 930,
which goes well with the
+400 from 5♦ making in the
other room. Actually, in a
way, it was a lucky board for
the Americans as our good
board at both tables only
results in one big swing.
We lose a few IMPs on the
third set, to leave us with a 5
IMP deficit at the end of the
first day.
Our hotel is a couple of
kilometres away from the
convention centre where
the bridge is being played.
It would be OK to walk it
in English weather, but here
it is so hot that walking
that distance would be too
exhausting.
However, there is a good
BRIDGE December 2013 Page 45
system of shuttle buses
(free) between the two and,
if you miss the bus, a taxi
costs only £1.50.
Halfway between the
two is Bali Collection, a
very attractive open plan
area with lots of shops and
restaurants.
This evening, Nicola
chooses to stay in the hotel
and eat quietly on her own,
while I go with Annabel
(a friend who is generally
hanging out with the team)
to Bali Collection to choose
a restaurant, get a table
for all of us and then text
the others where to come.
We have a good meal,
sitting outside in the balmy
evening, trying to relieve
the stress of competition at
this level.
Sunday
The captain has decided to
start with Heather, Nevena,
Nicola and me for a change.
We have an excellent set,
putting on 48 IMPs to leave
us with a lead of 43.
Nicola and I go back to the
hotel to rest in anticipation
of the final set. I go to the
gym and then have a swim
before going to my room to
see on my laptop how we are
doing. We have lost 50 IMPs
in the first four boards.
Things swing backwards
and forwards thereafter and,
when the smoke has cleared,
we lose 51 IMPs on the set
and now trail by 7.7 IMPs.
When this sort of thing
happens, obviously you
are not happy, but the
secret of a good team is to
pull together. You know
that they are feeling more
miserable about this than
you are and it is important
that you do all you can to
enable the pair that is going
to play the final set to regain
its equilibrium. Although
it is disappointing not to
be in a better position, we
Mr Bridge
are only a few down and
the match is still eminently
winnable.
The last set is on VuGraph,
proper VuGraph, that is, not 2014
just on BBO (www.bridge-
base.com) which broadcasts
most of the matches.
Bridge
Players’
Male chauvinism be-
ing what it is, it is rare to
show a women’s match on
VuGraph and we are given
house room only because
Italy are leading Monaco by
Diaries
nearly 100 IMPs.
We have a fair set and
think we have chances of
winning, but not all the
boards we think might be
gains turn out to be so and
there are losses we had not
anticipated, so, in the end,
the Americans win by 9
IMPs and we have to settle
Contents include
for the silver.
Having congratulated ♦ Acol Summary
our opponents, it is a rather by Bernard Magee.
sombre ride back to the
♦ Guide to the Laws.
hotel for a drink or two
before heading back for the ♦ Scoring Tables for
victory banquet. duplicate and
The medal winners are rubber bridge.
sitting off to one side, while ♦ Distributional odds.
the hoi polloi sit around
dining tables. ♦ Hand patterns and
fascinating figures.
We are beginning to
regret winning a medal ♦ Cover colours remaining:
at all as we can’t see the Red, Navy and
Balinese dancers who are Burgundy.
there to entertain us and a ♦ All covers printed in
bit later on the food arrives gold-coloured ink.
for everyone else and we
♦ Individual diaries £6.95
just have to wait to be called each including p&p.
on to the stage. I manage
to cause a bit of a stir by ♦ Special concession
fainting on the stage while to clubs and teachers.
10 for £35,
waiting for my medal. I thereafter £3.50 each
guess it is low blood sugar including p&p.
but I feel very strange and
♦ Luxury version with super-
embarrassed by the fuss soft kidrell cover, gilded
everyone is making over page edges and
me, instead of awarding a ball-point pen attached,
medals. in ruby red, navy blue
or bottle green.
Before long, I am feeling £14.95 each including p&p.
better though and up to a
nightcap back at our hotel See Mail Order
to round off another long Form on page 7.
championship. ■
 Answers to David Huggett’s
Play Quiz on page 13
1. ♠ K 6
♥ A Q 10 3
♦ 8 7 6 5
♣ Q 5 4
♠ Q 10 8 4 3 ♠ J 9 5 2
N
♥ K J 2 ♥ 9 7 6
W E
♦ K 4 S ♦ A 2
♣ 10 8 2 ♣ J 9 7 3
♠ A 7
♥ 8 5 4
♦ Q J 10 9 3
♣ A K 6
You are declarer in 3NT and West leads
the ♠4. How do you plan the play?
With only six tricks immediately avail-
able, the initial reaction might be to play
on diamonds for the extra tricks. How-
ever a moment’s thought will prove this
to be a futile plan for, by the time the
second diamond is played, the defence
will have established enough winners in
spades to defeat you. Instead, you must
play for a slight chance and hope that
West started with three hearts includ-
ing the king and jack. So win the lead in
hand and play a heart to the ten. If this
wins, return to hand with a club and play
a heart to the queen and finally cash the
ace. With everything right, you will make
nine tricks without touching diamonds at
all. The chance of success is only small
but better than no chance at all.
You are declarer in 4♥ and West leads
the ♠K. How do you plan the play?
You can guarantee one trump loser at
most by leading a low heart from dummy
at trick two and covering whatever
East plays. However, if you do have
a trump loser and take a club finesse
subsequently, you might find that East
can win and play a diamond through
your queen and then, on a bad day, you
might lose one heart, two diamonds and
a club. Give yourself an extra chance by
playing a low club to the king followed by
a low club to the ace. If the queen hasn’t
appeared, play a third round and you will
always have an extra winner in the suit,
unless East started with the queen and at
least three others. If that is the case, you
will need to find the king of diamonds
favourably placed.
3. ♠ K 7 2
♥ 10 8 6 4
♦ A 7 3
♣ K J 3
♠ J 10 6 5 4 3 ♠ Q 9
N
♥ A K J 5 ♥ Q 9 7 2
W E
♦ 10 5 S ♦ J 9 8 2
♣ 4 ♣ 9 8 5
♠ A 8
♥ 3
♦ K Q 6 4
♣ A Q 10 7 6 2
third trump will have started with four
diamonds when you still get that ruff in
dummy after all.
4. ♠ K J 7 5 3
♥ J 10 9
♦ K 6 4
♣ 10 3
♠ 4 ♠ 10
N
♥ K Q 6 5 W E ♥ 8 4 2
♦ Q J 10 7 S ♦ 9 5 3
♣ A J 9 6 ♣ Q 8 7 5 4 2
♠ A Q 9 8 6 2
♥ A 7 3
♦ A 8 2
♣ K
You are declarer in 4♠ after West has
doubled the 1♠ opening bid. West leads
the ♦Q. How do you plan the play?
You have four potential losers: two
hearts, one diamond and a club. Win
the diamond in hand and draw trumps
ending in dummy and lead a club to
the king. (You never know, it might win.)
Assume West wins and plays another
diamond. You win in dummy, ruff your
club loser and exit with your remaining
diamond. You will find whoever wins will
either have to give you a ruff and discard
or open up the heart suit, which will give
you two tricks in the suit either sooner or
later. ■

You are declarer in 6♣ and West leads

2. ♠ A 6 the ♥A, K. Trumps break 3-1. How do
♥ Q 9 7 5 you plan the play? BEGIN BRIDGE


♦ A 4 3
♣ K J 7 3
Superficially, it might seem that you
need either trumps to break 2-2 when ACOL  £66
♠ K Q J 3
♥ K 3
N
♠ 10 9 8 7 5 4
♥ J
you can ruff any potential diamond
loser in dummy, or for diamonds to
VERSION
W E
♦ K 8 5 S ♦ J 10 9 2 break 3-3 if trumps do not split evenly.
♣ 10 9 8 2 ♣ Q 5 But that is not entirely the case. Ruff the
An Interactive
♠ 2 second heart and play two top trumps. Tutorial CD with
♥ A 10 8 6 4 2 If they break 2-2 there is no problem, Bernard Magee
♦ Q 7 6 but if they break 3-1, leave one trump
♣ A 6 4 outstanding and play three rounds of See Mail Order form on page 7.
diamonds. Sometimes, the hand with the

Page 46 BRIDGE December 2013

 Answers to Weak Twos Quiz on page 30
1 Consider Hands A, B, C and D. Which
of these hands is suitable for a weak 2♠
opening bid with nobody vulnerable:
Second in hand (ie after one pass)?
Third in hand (ie after two passes)?
Hand A Hand B
♠ K Q 10 9 6 2 ♠ K Q 10 9 6 2
♥ 8 ♥ K 9 5 3
♦ K 9 5 3 ♦ 8
♣ 9 7 ♣ 9 7
Hand C Hand D
♠ J 7 6 4 3 2 ♠ A Q J 8 7
♥ K 9 4 ♥ 9 7
♦ A 3 2 ♦ J 10 6
♣ 6 ♣ 6 3 2
A weak two bid shows 6-10 points and a
good 6-card suit. In second seat, when
your partner might be very strong, you
should be disciplined. In third position,
when your partner is known not to have
the values for an opening bid, you can
express more freedom, if you so wish,
because partner will almost certainly
pass unless he has a very good spade fit.
Hand A: Second or third in hand: 2♠.
Perfect. A 4-card minor shouldn’t hold
you back if the hand is otherwise suitable.
Hand B: Second in hand pass because
you have four cards in the other major,
hearts. If you open 2♠, you may miss
a heart fit. Third in hand, I would open
2♠.
Hand C: Pass in any position. The
spades are too poor and you have too
much outside defence. The biggest
danger in opening 2♠ third in hand is
if opponents bid to 4♥ and partner,
imagining good spades and little outside
defence, sacrifices unnecessarily in 4♠.
Hand D: Second in hand pass. Third
in hand 2♠, though that is a matter of
personal choice.
2 At love all, your partner opens a weak
2♠ first in hand and the next hand
passes. What should you bid with
Hands E to M?
BRIDGE December 2013 Page 47
Hand E Hand F
♠ J ♠ J
♥ A Q 9 7 ♥ A J 7 6
♦ A K 8 7 ♦ K Q 7 2
♣ A Q 3 2 ♣ Q J 5 4
Hand G Hand H
♠ K 8 7 ♠ 7
♥ 6 3 ♥ A Q J 8 7 2
♦ A J 9 2 ♦ A K Q 6
♣ K 8 6 3 ♣ K 2
Hand J Hand K
♠ K 7 ♠ K 7 2
♥ 9 8 6 ♥ A K 8
♦ A J 5 4 ♦ A K Q J
♣ A K 3 2 ♣ A Q 2
Hand L Hand M
♠ 3 ♠ K 8 6 4
♥ A Q ♥ 7
♦ Q J 10 ♦ Q J 10 9 7
♣ A K Q J 8 7 2 ♣ 7 3 2
Hand E: 4♠. Not 3NT which might well
have no entry to partner’s spades.
Hand F: Pass. No chance of game,
despite your opening values. Be cautious
with a misfit opposite a pre-emptive
bid.
Hand G: 3♠. Not a game try. Partner
will pass. If he is maximum, then 3♠
might make. If he is minimum, your op-
ponents can probably make 4♥.
Hand H: 3♥. If necessary, you will play
in 4♠, but give partner a chance to raise
to 4♥.
Hand J: 2NT. Conventional, asking
partner to describe his hand further. If he
is maximum, you will play in 4♠, other-
wise you will sign off on 3♠.
Hand K: 2NT. If partner has a good suit
(two of the top three honours), you will
play in 7♠ or 7NT. Why not? You could
count 13 tricks: (6 spades, 2 hearts, 4
diamonds and the ♣A). Otherwise, you
will choose 6♠.
Hand L: 3NT. To play. Partner is not
allowed to remove it under any circum-
stances.
Hand M: 4♠. Your left-hand opponent
must be very strong. You have an excellent
spade fit so make it hard for opponents
to enter the auction. On a really lucky
day (eg partner has a singleton club), 4♠
might even make.
Compare Hands E and M. In each case,
you bid 4♠ but for very different reasons.
Note that if opponents do bid over your
4♠, partner is not allowed to bid under
any circumstances.
The basic rule is this: if you pre-empt,
you must never bid again unless partner
invites you to do so. 2♠ is a pre-emptive
bid.
3 As West you open a weak 2♥ with
Hands N, Q, R and S. What is your re-
bid if the auction continues as shown?
West North East South
2♥ Pass 2NT Pass
?
Hand N Hand Q
♠ 9 8 ♠ 9 8
♥ A J 9 7 6 4 ♥ A Q 9 8 7 6
♦ J 10 5 ♦ 8 6 5
♣ 4 2 ♣ 4 2
Hand R Hand S
♠ 9 8 ♠ 9 8
♥ A J 9 8 7 6 ♥ A K 10 8 5 4
♦ K J 9 ♦ K 6 5
♣ 4 2 ♣ 4 2
2NT is conventional.
Hand N: 3♣, showing a minimum 2♥
and denying two of the top three heart
honours.
Hand Q: 3♦, showing a minimum 2♥
and showing two of the top three heart
honours.
Hand R: 3♥, showing a maximum 2♥
and denying two of the top three heart
honours.
Hand S: 3♠, showing a maximum 2♥
and showing two of the top three heart
honours. ■
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Car parking at port or coach
and unspoiled gem. Explore idyllic Phuket transfers on selected no-fly  
and spice-filled Penang before the vibrant cruises
mix of ancient temples, majestic mosques and Additional Cruises and Grand Voyages available
soaring skyscrapers of the rising star 01483 489961 for brochures and bookings
of South-East Asia.
Fares shown are per person based on the lowest cabin category currently available, are subject to availability and include all applicable discounts for new bookings only. Fares shown include current fuel supplements correct at time of printing, but subject to change. Onboard spend applies per cabin. All offers are subject to
availability, cannot be combined with any other offer or loyalty offer, are capacity controlled and may be withdrawn at any time. See brochure for full terms and conditions. Voyages of Discovery is a trading name of All Leisure Holidays Ltd.